Emily and JJ both walked into the BAU with twin grins, their coffee cups held loosely in their hands as they chuckled over a shared joke, something that immediately pinged on Garcia's radar.
"What have you lovely ladies been up to that has you so happy and giggly this early in the morning?" The tech analyst asked innocently, subtly scrutinizing them as the two women in question exchanged and look and simply chuckled more.
Sensing that if an answer wasn't given soon, Penelope would begin her usual relentless way of pulling information from them, Emily spoke up. "Nothing, we just stopped to get some coffee."
"Prentiss, I know I sometimes don't get your particular brand of humor but what could possibly be funny about getting a cup of coffee?" Morgan asked, having been whispering quietly with Penelope before the two women walked in.
Once again, the two women looked at one another, silently communicating to each other through nothing more than a few looks and a quirk of their lips.
It was something that did not go unnoticed by Derek or Penelope, but it was Penelope who narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the two women. Looking at the pair, it was clear that something had shifted since their bout on the dance floor and Penelope was curious as to what exactly that was.
Of course, this new change in tide also meant that her plans had to once again be altered, something that she was thoroughly enjoying but also completely annoyed with. At first she had believed that Emily would be the predictable one in the relationship, the profiler having proved time and time again that her comfort zone was a place she preferred to be in rather than out of. JJ was usually the opposite; while the media liaison was content to linger in familiarity, she almost always jumped at the chance to try something new or step out of her comfort zone and experience something new.
But seeing the two women together and how they had been interacting thus far, it seemed that when they were in a relationship their roles reversed. Which she supposed wasn't rare or uncommon, but it was certainly a game changer.
Penelope couldn't lie and pretend like seeing Emily take the reins in things and effortlessly slip into the role of 'girlfriend' didn't shock her, because she was, very much so. And JJ, the one the tech analyst had been willing to bet money on as the one to have the least amount of trouble being Emily's girlfriend, especially after seeing how easily she had agreed to the bet, had thrown her for yet another loop. Much to Penelope's surprise, it turned out that JJ had been the easier of the two to rattle while Emily was the harder one.
And now, after only a day, they seemed different. It was almost as though the two had somehow strengthened their relationship in the span of one day, and that was something that Garcia found increasingly fascinating and mindboggling. JJ, who had seemed somewhat skittish the night before, especially when she realized just how close her and Emily had been getting on the dance floor, now seemed strangely comfortable in the profilers presence.
"What are you two planning on doing tonight?" Penelope asked, working hard to main an image of innocence and underplayed disinterest as she leaned against Morgan's desk and tried to keep her intended meddling to a minimum.
Emily shrugged, looking at JJ in question, "I didn't have anything planned for tonight, I thought we would just stay in and relax."
JJ mimicked Emily's behavior, not having planned anything for them either. After their somewhat emotion and activity filled weekend, the blonde had been planning on taking things easy. "Yeah, I hadn't really planned on doing anything either. We were out late last night and I'm not really up for doing anything to strenuous."
Before Emily could say anything to stop the obvious sexual joke or innuendo either Garcia or Morgan were no doubt about to say, she was too late. "Guess that means you're not getting any tonight, Prentiss," Morgan boomed, his eyebrows waggling suggestively as he tried to stop his rumbling chuckles.
Beside him, Penelope covered her mouth with her hand, feebly attempting to stem her cackles of delight at the joke.
The raven haired profiler let out a low and suffering sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose as she shook her head slowly, "You two are absolutely perfect for one another," she grumbled lightly.
JJ cracked a smile, knowing that the duo would always twist simple words into something sexual and also knowing that it was impossible to stop them from doing it. It would have been like asking Garcia to stop being nosy — it just wasn't going to happen; and if by some chance it did happen, either the world was about to end or something was terribly wrong.
"Yeah, you two kind of are," JJ said after a moment, glancing between the profiler and the tech analyst, wondering why the two hadn't gotten together sooner.
"Well, to be fair, I'm pretty much perfect for all ladies," Morgan said smugly, his chest puffing out and his biceps flexing as he tried to show just why he was irresistible to all women.
Penelope glanced at Morgan, her eyes drawn to his bulging muscles as she stared appreciatively at him, never one to pass up a chance to gawk at the obvious eye candy. "And I'm perfect for everybody." Garcia finally muttered, reluctantly drawing her eyes away from the man beside her.
Morgan nodded in agreement before realizing what his temporary girlfriend had just said and instantly turned to her in shock. "Everybody?" He squeaked, wondering how he hadn't known that tidbit of information sooner.
"Yeah, everybody," she repeated, only Morgan continuing to show his absolute shock at the revelation. "I don't discriminate against interested parties," she said simply, acting as though he were the weird one for not sharing her dating tendencies.
"How did I not know this?" He asked loudly, his hands dramatically flying into the air as he tried to wrap his head around the concept of the tech analyst playing both sides of the field. "Why did you not tell me this?" Morgan asked urgently, resisting the urge to shake the woman for not divulging what he believed to be very important information.
Penelope, finding his reaction to be one of the most humorous things imaginable, simply shrugged her shoulders and gazed impassively at him. The action resulted in Morgan's obvious bewilderment, his hands emphatically gesturing in the air as he floundered for a response to the lackadaisical attitude Penelope was employing.
"What's going on?" An unsuspecting Reid asked, having seen Morgan's hand waving and everyone else's clearly amused expressions at his behavior.
"Apparently, Morgan didn't know Penelope was bisexual." Emily stated matter-of-factly,
"You didn't know?" Reid asked simply, unknowingly increasing Morgan's plight.
"Boy wonder knew before I did?" Morgan shouted before glaring at his supposed girlfriend. "What the hell Penelope." Instead of sounding angry or hurt it just sounded whiny and petulant, something that made the three women surrounding him instantly stifle their laughter.
After making sure she wouldn't laugh again, Penelope stepped closer to Morgan, "I'm sorry, handsome," she said soothingly. "I honestly thought you knew," the tech analyst said simply, the hidden smile on her face belying the sincerity of the apology.
"Are you upset because you she didn't tell you or because of what you've been missing out on?" Emily asked with interest, her question drawing all eyes towards Morgan as they waited expectantly for his answer.
"Both?" He replied, the answer coming out as a question as he tried to keep from falling into the verbal trap. Somehow it felt like there was no right answer to that question, no matter how open Penelope was about sex and dating.
"Maybe try not looking like you're imagining about twenty different lascivious scenarios when you say that," JJ said pointedly, having seen that look on Morgan's face far too many times to count. It was the look that meant his mind was officially in the gutter; a place that his and Penelope's minds seemed to frequent on a regular basis.
"She's got a point," Emily added, watching with unrestrained humor as he attempted to school his features and failing miserably. "You're grinning like a loon and it's pretty obvious that it's not because you're happy that Garcia's happy."
"You guys are crazy," Morgan objected vehemently, his arms folding across his chest, "I am not picturing anything like that, I'm just happy that we're in a time where people can be out and proud."
Reid, having been watching the entire exchange, stepped forward and stared Morgan right in the eye, blatantly invading the other man's personal space, before pursing his lips in thought. "Your pupils are dilated."
"So? It's kinda bright in here," Morgan rebutted, easily dismissing the comment as just another odd observation from Reid.
"If your pupils were constricted, then that would be a plausible reasoning but they're dilated." Spencer commented, once again invading Morgan's personal space as he stared at the other man, their noses so close they were almost touching. "The human eyes actually dilate for a handful of reasons, some of the more common ones being drug use, emotional state, brain function and even sexual arousal."
"That's for the medical lesson, Reid, but what does that have to do with me?" Morgan asked, not bothering to hide his growing annoyance with the topic at hand.
"Well, based on the content of your previous conversation, the slight flush to your cheeks and the dilation of your pupils it's easy to see how JJ could have come to the conclusion that the knowledge of Penelope's sexual orientation would have caused you to fantasize or otherwise become sexually aroused."
Had it not been so clinically said and with such a seriousness that only Reid seemed to have mastered, all three women in the room would have burst into laughter. The look of mortification and embarrassment that seemed to overtake Morgan's face was priceless, his mouth opening and closing as he floundered and tried to come up with something to say.
Luckily for the profiler though, the fates seemed to have taken mercy on him as the sound of the elevator doors opening sounded and a man in jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt strolled onto the floor with a bouquet of red roses in his arms.
The women on the floor exchanged glances, easily figuring that the flowers would be for them, but not entirely sure which one of them was the recipient.
"Is there an," the man started to ask, deftly pulling the sealed envelope from the flowers and glancing at the name, "Emily Prentiss here?"
Eyes widening in surprise, Emily raised her hand, her face covered in shock at the prospect of receiving such a large arrangement of flowers at work. "That's me," she finally muttered, watching as he stuffed the envelope back into place and gingerly handed over the flowers before turning on his heel and leaving.
"You got flowers?" JJ asked curiously, eyeing the bouquet before snapping her attention towards the profiler holding them.
"Does someone have a secret admirer?" Penelope hedged, her smile growing as she tried to get an answer just by reading Emily's still surprised expression.
"I don't think so?" Emily said in question, not having interacted with anyone other than her coworkers and knowing that she hadn't had any romantic prospects in a long while.
"Who would be sending Prentiss flowers?" Morgan asked, stressing Emily's last name for added emphasis.
It was that exaggerated shock and emphasis on her name that snapped Emily right out of her stupor and had the profiler giving her friend a dark look, clearly offended by the implications of his question. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Skilled in the art of reading people, Morgan quickly picked up on the shift in the atmosphere, noticing that not only was Emily pissed at his comment but now he was getting daggers shot at him from Penelope and JJ as well. Though, from the looks of it, JJ seemed to be angrier than Penelope, clearly annoyed at the way his jest had made her girlfriend's mood damper. Something he found incredibly interesting and equally frightening if JJ's fiery blues eyes were anything to go by.
"Well–" he stammered, knowing he was more than likely going to put his foot in his mouth for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning. "It's just that–" His eyes darted around the room, moving from person to person, seeing their angry and expectant expressions and knowing there was little he could do to dig himself out of the hole he stood in, "Prentiss doesn't usually get flowers. It was just a little surprising I guess," he finished lamely, going over his words to see if they could be misconstrued in any way.
JJ narrowed her eyes, obviously not pleased with the answer but not willing or interested in pushing the subject any further.
"So, who are they from?" Penelope asked, just after giving Derek a loaded look, something the man knew wouldn't be good and would be brought up when the two were alone.
Emily's stormy and contemplative expression slackened, her focus now directed once again on the flowers that remained in her hands. With a hesitancy that she didn't usually have, Emily reached into the arrangement and pulled out the small ivory envelope, delicately opening it and pulling out the card from within.
Slowly, she opened the card, a reluctant smile tugging at her lips as she read the single line written down inside and the neatly scrawled and very familiar name beneath it.
"So?" Penelope asked, holding onto the desk tightly as she resisted the urge to lunge forward, yank the card from Emily's grasp and read every word written on it.
"Yeah, who's it from?" JJ asked, the corner of her lip curling upward despite the curious look she was sporting.
Noticing the sparkle in JJ's eyes, Emily couldn't resist shaking her head in mirth, her smile blossoming as she pointed a finger towards the blonde.
Penelope and Derek both followed Emily's pointed finger, as though it was impossible to believe that JJ would be the one to have sent the profiler a bouquet of roses.
"JJ sent them?" Both people asked, Penelope sounding surprised and giddy at the prospect while Derek just sounded confused.
"Unless I know another Jennifer, which I don't, then yes." Emily answered, gnawing her lip to keep from laughing at how shocked the other two people in the room looked. It was highly entertaining to see them looking so surprised to see JJ actually acting the part of girlfriend and sending flowers.
Garcia snapped out of it first, her fingers already outstretching and making a grab for the note, which Emily easily pulled back and stuffed into the back pocket of her jeans.
"Nu-uh," Emily tsked, her finger waggling tauntingly in front of Garcia, her mysterious and teasing smile only making the tech analyst try harder to grab the note.
Penelope moved closer to the profiler, her arm wrapping around Emily's waist as her fingers tried desperately to grab hold of the piece of paper.
"Uh, Pen," JJ spoke up after a moment, wondering why Garcia was so interested in the note. Penelope was nosey, that was a given, but she was never that anxious to read something, especially when it came to Emily. It seemed like standard practice to give the profiler her space when she was reluctant to open up or share things, otherwise there was a chance someone would get their head bitten off or end up iced out until she let go of her grudge. "Why are you groping my girlfriend?"
Almost immediately Penelope's hands froze where they were, which incidentally, was on Emily's butt and halfway into her pocket. As though burned, her hand shot out of the profiler's pants as she stumbled backwards. "I wasn't groping her," Penelope defended, shaking her hand fiercely as if she were ridding herself of any pieces of Emily that had stuck to her, "I was trying to get the card."
JJ sidled up to Emily, slowly and deliberately reaching into Emily's back pocket and pulling out the card, relishing in the almost scandalized look on Penelope's face. "You mean this card?" She asked innocently, batting her eyelashes and perusing the words written on the piece of paper.
Penelope narrowed her eyes at the action, torn between being thrilled by the new development and petulant at not having seen anticipated it. "Yes, that card."
"Sorry, it's personal," the blonde gleefully said, finding it oddly thrilling to mess with Penelope. Though a part of her knew that by the time the bet was over she would no doubt end up paying for the way she was acting, JJ figured that it was only fair, especially after the way Penelope had acted when they went dancing.
"Yeah, personal," Emily mimicked, plucking the card from between JJ's fingers and slipping back into her back pocket. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to have a word with our wonderfully enchanting media liaison."
Without another word, Emily grabbed JJ by the elbow and pulled her towards the media liaison's office, pointedly ignoring the questions that were being flung rapidly at her by not only Penelope but Morgan as well.
When the door was closed, Emily pulled the card out and waved it in the air, "Care to explain this and the bouquet of roses, Miss Jareau?"
Smiling at the suddenly playful attitude, JJ smirked, dropping into her seat and giving the profiler a mysterious and taunting look. "Well, I couldn't exactly let you keep showing me up. I have to show that I'm worthy of being a Prentiss's girlfriend, I figure sending flowers with a note was a good start."
Laughing at the sentiment, Emily took a seat across from JJ, crossing her legs and leaning back in her chair, more than interested in finding out just what else the blonde was willing to show to prove her 'worthiness.'
As soon as the two women disappeared into JJ's office, Penelope was pushing off the desk and sprinting towards her office, moving faster than she had ever moved before.
Her feet slid across the sleek floor as she rounded the corner and rushed into her office, immediately darting behind her desk and typing away on her keyboard. She didn't even bother to check if Morgan was following or not, more interested in hacking into the surveillance camera in JJ's office and watching the live feed than seeing if her partner in crime was present.
"Oh, this is gonna be good," Penelope said to no one in particular, the video feed from the media liaison's office suddenly popping up on the main screen.
Penelope's eyes narrowed with interest as she tuned in the audio, almost too giddy with delight at being the proverbial fly on the wall for their conversation.
Her eyes immediately trained on the sitting figures of Emily and JJ, seeing the twin smiles on their faces and the way both women looked to be enjoying themselves despite the fact that no one had spoken yet.
"Does this mean you're going to try and one up me, Jennifer?" Penelope heard Emily say, a huskiness to her voice that caused JJ's blue eyes to glaze over and her fingers to run anxiously through her long blonde locks. Of course, Penelope couldn't really blame JJ for her current bout of silence considering Emily's voice had even sent a shiver running up her spine.
Garcia had known that Emily had a certain allure to her; the deep brown mysterious and guarded eyes, the regal manner in which she carried herself, almost as though she didn't care what anyone thought of her, which to an extent was true. She had just the right amount of aloofness to make men and women alike flock to her, the need to peel back the layers and reveal the inner workings making her like catnip to both sexes.
But Garcia figured it was the obvious distance, emotionally, she put between herself and others that made their interest in her all that much more amplified. After all, there was a reason why movies always portrayed the mysterious and guarded male as the more desired person, it was human nature and curiosity that drove people to want to be the one that got them to open up; the raven haired profiler definitely had that going for her.
And had Emily shown an interest in women prior to the bet, Garcia had no doubt that the profiler would have had far more interested parties than the few men she had managed to snag over the duration of her stay with the BAU.
Now, though, actually seeing Emily in action, Garcia had to admit that her assessment of the allure that Emily possessed was far off base. The way she turned JJ to putty with nothing more than a dance, albeit a rather erotic one but a dance nonetheless, and the way she spoke to the blonde, as though she were caressing her words with nothing more than her tone, made her that much more appealing.
"Do you want me to one up you, Emily?" Garcia heard JJ asked, obviously giving as well as she got if the intonation in her voice was anything to go by.
And just like that, Garcia's previous assumptions of JJ were thrown out the window as well. It was no shocker that JJ's tastes, date wise and interest wise, were pretty eclectic. She was a man's dream girl personified. She liked her sports, drank beer, thrived in a group setting and would have had no problem getting along with any guy friends her boyfriend would have introduced her to.
But in addition to that, she was also quite feminine. She liked hanging out with the girls, she enjoyed drinking wine just as much as she did beer, for all the sports she enjoyed she wasn't adverse to the idea of dancing, seeing plays and musicals or even attending upscale events. There were few environments or situations where JJ didn't flourish or shine.
Add to that the long blonde hair, the deep blue eyes and the sun-kissed skin and she was basically the embodiment and definition of an all-American girl.
Penelope's initial thoughts on JJ, while initially correct, didn't factor in the way the blonde interacted with Emily when the two believed there were no prying eyes. There was a sense of ease and playfulness that the media liaison seemed to be exuding, a state of comfort that she hadn't imagined JJ would be able to achieve without a little pushing.
It was no wonder her meddling hadn't been very successful, she had grossly underestimated the other two women. Individually, they were one thing, but together, it seemed all that harder to get an accurate read on them.
This, more than anything else, proved she needed to reassess her tactics.
Nodding in silent promise, Garcia redirected her attention towards the screen and continued to study the other two women.
"Is that an official offer," Emily asked flirtatiously.
JJ leaned forward in her seat, her eyes sparkling with delight at the banter, her chin resting on her folded hands, "It could be," she responded easily, seemingly unaffected by the easy going flirting they were doing.
"Well then," the profiler said, rising from her seat and smiling mischievously, "game on, Jennifer." The profiler drawled, dragging out JJ's name.
Garcia kept her eyes glued to the screen, finding her office getting increasingly hotter as she listened to the two women speak and watched the looks they shot one another. It was enrapturing and equally off-putting to watch them, solely because it made her feel as though she were watching something far more intimate than simply flirtatious banter.
Penelope's eyes widened as she leaned closer to the screen, observing as Emily strolled towards JJ with a swagger that only the profiler could possess, and leaned in close, her lips just barely grazing the blonde's ear.
She couldn't hear what the profiler was saying, something that frustrated her to no end, but from the way JJ's cheeks flamed and her eyes seemed to flutter for a moment, she had a feeling it was something good.
Emily pulled away slowly, a lazy grin on her face as she leaned her hip on the blonde's desk, "Sound good?"
Nodding dumbly, JJ stared at the raven haired woman, her lips parted and her hand once again running anxiously through her hair.
"Y-yeah, it's a date." Jennifer finally muttered, seeming to snap out of her daze.
"Can't wait," Emily responded, an excited smile on her face the likes of which Penelope nor JJ had ever seen before.
Just as Penelope was about to go back to work and disconnect from the camera feed in JJ's office, she saw Emily start to pull away and walk towards the door. Just as the profiler pushed off the desk and turned, JJ's hand shot out and grabbed Emily's wrist firmly.
The tech analyst's screen flickered to its normal display just as JJ rose from her seat, tugged the profiler towards her and planted a kiss firmly and soundly upon Emily's unsuspecting lips.
Penelope furiously typed away at her keyboard, hurriedly trying to bring the feed back up to see the juicy interaction but knowing she was too late. In her haste, her fingers fumbled as they flew across the keys, uncharacteristically mistyping the codes needed to access the camera footage.
Left with only the image of JJ moving to sit behind her desk, she screamed in outrage and desperation, knowing she had missed what was most likely the juiciest part of their interaction. "No!"
Standing stock still in JJ's office, Emily stared wonderingly at the blonde before her, in a bit of a daze over the impromptu kiss and the forcefulness she had just witnessed.
She hadn't exactly imagined JJ initiating a kiss like that, at least not that soon seeing as how it seemed like the blonde was still acclimating to their new relationship, but apparently she was wrong. And wonderfully so.
"What was that for?" Emily asked slowly, only then registering the warmth that seemed to flood her body.
JJ shrugged, a lazy smile on her face as her thumb stroked over Emily's wrist, idly noting that the profiler's pulse was raised. "A thanks for last night and for our upcoming date," the blonde answered, realizing that now she had let go of all her reservations, she found it rather easy to be affectionate with Emily.
"I thought the roses were your way of thanking me for last night?" Emily questioned, more than a little distracted by the sensation of JJ's thumb caressing the sensitive skin on her wrist.
"An arrangement of flowers didn't quite feel like enough," the blonde whispered, leaning closer to the profiler as they shared another languid kiss.
This time Emily was the one to nod dumbly, her brain feeling as though it had temporarily short circuited. She wasn't used to JJ being the bold one but it was definitely something she could get used to.
Before the raven haired woman could get her brain and mouth to reestablish their obviously severed connection, JJ was taking charge yet again and ushering the profiler towards the door.
"Now that we've sorted all that out, I believe you have a stack of case files on your desk that need to be finished by the end of the day."
"Uh, right, case files," Emily blabbered, only managing to recover a sliver of decorum as she made her way out the door.
"Oh, and Emily?" JJ spoke up, stopping the profiler just as she was crossing the threshold of the doorway.
"Yeah?" she responded, the fog in her brain clearing up as more distance was put between the two of them.
"I'm looking forward to our date tomorrow." All sense of flirting was absent from the comment, only her excitement and sincerity shining through as she locked eyes with Emily.
"Me too," Emily responded, her tone matching JJ's as she uttered the two simple words.
"NO!" both women heard, the shout echoing throughout the floor, effectively snapping them out of their moment.
"What the heck was that?" Emily asked, her eyes scanning the BAU floor for any indication of who might have screamed.
"I have no idea," JJ said slowly, her eyes also roaming the area for the source. "But it kind of sounded like Pen," she said thoughtfully but quickly dismissed it, doubting the infallible tech analyst would have shouted like that.
"Oh well," Emily muttered, turning her attention back towards JJ, "I'll see you later."
"See ya," JJ responded, watching as Emily offered a small smile before walking down the steps and towards her desk.
With nothing more to distract her, the media liaison closed her door and made her way back towards her desk, more than ready to finish her work and end the work day.
As Emily walked over to her desk, she was met with Derek's expectant and excited stare, obviously wanting to know not only about her flowers but what had transpired in JJ's office. It was moments like these that his similarities with Penelope became even more apparent.
"What can I do for you, Derek?" Emily asked, knowing that if she didn't ask he would continue to stare at her until she offered up the juicy details.
"Don't act like you don't know why I'm staring, Prentiss," Derek said sternly, his ever present smile making Emily want to roll her eyes in exasperation.
"You know, you're almost as bad Garcia when it comes to the intrusive questions and meddling." She commented, noticing the way his eyes widened just a fraction before they narrowed.
"I'm no where even close to being as nosey as Baby Girl and you know it." He said petulantly, his lower lip jutting out as he stared defiantly at the other profiler. "And if you keep treating me like this, I'll have no choice but replace you as my wingman and confidant; I'm sure Pen would be more than willing to take over."
Nonplussed by the threat, Emily simply shrugged and opened one of the folders on her desk, "You wouldn't last a day with Penelope as your confidant or wingman. Not only would she meddle but she would probably start stealing your dates."
Scandalized by the thought, Morgan recoiled, "Baby Girl would never do that," he defended vehemently.
Emily, wanting nothing more than to mess with his head, sighed in sympathy at him. "Oh, Morgan, do you honestly believe that?"
Morgan started to nod before his head suddenly stopped and his body leaned towards Emily. "Why wouldn't I? Me and Baby Girl are tight like that."
"You heard her," she said simply, "she's not only open to male but female attention, so why wouldn't she try to reel them in for herself?"
Not giving in easily to the seeds of doubt Emily was trying to plant, Morgan shook his head and crossed his arms. "Me and Pen are too tight to be broken up by the prospect of her stealing a few of my dates. Besides, her sexuality is a good thing, not a bad thing. Means more ladies for the both of us."
"You say that now," Emily said conspiratorially, a hint of knowledge in her voice, "but you'll be singing a different tune soon enough."
While Morgan thought that over, Emily refocused her attention towards her work, "And if you're so confident in her, then why didn't she tell you about her dating preferences sooner? Had it not come up accidentally today, who knows how long it would have been before she said something about it."
Silenced by the words, Derek sat still, staring blankly at his stack of case files, the seed of doubt having successfully been planted.
"I mean, what kind of friend, let alone girlfriend, doesn't tell someone something as important as that?" Emily continued, keeping her focus on her work as she spoke. "I know I would be pissed if someone that close to me had told everyone else but me; there's no telling what else they're keeping." Slyly looking at Morgan's contemplative expression, Emily resisted the urge to laugh at how easy it was to rattle his cage, "But I'm sure you and Pen are close enough to not even care about stuff like that. I mean, what other secrets could she possibly be keeping from you? You two have known each other for so long that secrets are pretty much nonexistent. Like you said, you two are tight."
"Yeah, right," Morgan said distractedly, his eyes distant as he mulled over the web Emily was weaving.
Sensing she had successfully turned the tables, Emily resisted the urge to cackle in delight and instead silently hoped the temporary rift in Morgan and Garcia's relationship would keep the two from messing with her and JJ.
It was a lot to hope for but she knew Penelope and Morgan were up to no good and if she needed o play dirty to win this bet, she would do it. Especially since she had a date with JJ tomorrow and had no intention of letting the meddling duo ruin it or mess it up.
Emily was looking forward to it too much and had pulled too many strings to have it ruined by a sudden bout of hesitancy spurred on by Garcia's comments or Morgan's jokes. Quite honestly, Emily was sure that by the time their date was over she would have JJ so confident in their relationship that nothing the other two could say would drive a wedge between them.
Plus, it was the first date in a long while that Emily was actually excited about and looking forward to.
The first date had finally arrived and will be in the next chapter.
Once again, thanks to everyone who has been following along and reviewing, it means a lot to know you're enjoying the story as much as I am. :)