(A/N: The new title is a reference to the musical "Rent"- the piece with the AIDS support group. They're asking "Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow from this nightmare?" in the song. I got that idea, because her friends' actions answer those questions for Prentiss. I know you guys like my Prentiss/JJ as a couple thing, but I'm not the type to get graphic with it, and anyway, they will move very slowly. Please review!)

Prentiss and JJ lay drowsily next to each other on JJ's bed, not wanting to get up, and still stunned at the fact that they had kissed. Something occurred to the blond. "Thanksgiving's coming up, can you go home for it? I remember on Monday, you were fighting with your mom, quite badly, over the phone. Do you want to go home, then? Would she let you? Because you know that the dorms close at seven that Wednesday evening, you can't stay."

"She told me I can't come home again because of being bi. I don't know where I'm going to go. Might stay and keep Reid and Garcia company; neither of them really has anything to go back to either. Or, you know, I could just find a nice cardboard box for those four days." Prentiss said, trying to joke.

"If there's one thing you won't be doing, it's living in a box!" JJ protested. "And you shouldn't have to be alone for the holiday just because your mom is a homophobic bitch! We'll figure something out for you, so you're never alone like that, even if you can't be with your family anymore. Our weird little group- we can be your family instead. And it's even more special that way, because we chose each other. We weren't just born into it. You'll see. Things will work out. I bet you won't even miss your parents much."

That was halfway true; Prentiss was almost relieved that her mother wasn't talking to her any longer; it meant she wasn't yelling at her. But she felt a pang of pain for her father. Although after a long marriage to her mother, he was so completely under her thumb that he had stopped standing up for Prentiss when her mom mistreated her, she knew he loved her anyway.

Flash. Little Emily, now about ten, was lying miserably in her room after getting screamed at for another B in math. She sighed with relief, but was too depressed to get up, upon hearing one car leave their driveway and another arrive. Hearing large feet pad up the stairs, she perked up a little. Dad. At least he wouldn't yell at her.

He knocked before entering- her mom never did that- and came in and sat on the bed. "Emily," he said quietly. She was unsure; it was almost like she didn't know how to handle someone being nice to her any more. "I know you got a B in math, and that Mom yelled at you and punished you for it. I'm sorry. I wish I could get her to stop doing that. Anyway, listen to me, all right?"

Emily nodded. "The rest were all A's. I think you did great," he said. "Just do your best. It's unfair of your mom to ask for more than that. You are smart. Here, I brought you something, only don't let her see." Her dad tossed two bags of her favorite candy- one regular, one sour- tied together with a blue ribbon, on the bed. "Put them in your lunch or something, take them to school. Because you know the rule around here."

"No junk food."

"Right, but that's not my rule. God, can't you have a little fun in life?" Emily nodded again, smiled a little, and hesitantly hugged him.

There had been other times, other bags of her favorite candy, sometimes a little extra cash, a privilege, or even a hug. Prentiss's dad, while refusing to openly defy her mother's regime of austerity and expectations of perfection, had done so in some small ways. Just enough to assure the girl that someone did love her. Eventually, he was the only person that could coax a few words out of her, during the time that she barely talked. But only when they were alone.

"Earth to Emily," JJ said, stroking her hair. "I said, I'll ask my family if you can come and have Thanksgiving with me."

"Sorry," Prentiss mumbled. "I was just thinking about my dad- if I'll still be able to see him now that I can't come home. He loved me, even if she doesn't want me any longer. I don't think she ever did."

JJ didn't know what to say; she knew Prentiss didn't get along with her mom, but not that she felt totally unloved. This actually explained a lot; if she was abusive, this explained her friend's hesitance to be affectionate, (she even used to flinch when JJ touched her, and still would with people she didn't know well,) her shyness, her careful, cautious demeanor around everyone as if she was afraid of doing even the tiniest thing wrong, the stamp of hurt in her eyes that could never be erased, no matter how happy she was in the moment.

"Did she…hurt you?" JJ ventured.

"Yes. No. I don't know," Prentiss said, confused. "She never hit me."

"But I heard her, I know she yells at you." The dark-haired girl nodded. "A lot," JJ continued. "That's emotional abuse."

Prentiss said nothing, closely examining the comforter to avoid looking. "Let's talk about something else," she finally said. "Thanks for inviting me to spend Thanksgiving with you. That would be great."

Saturday night, again. Everyone was going to go out for dinner- it was Prentiss's favorite restaurant, a tiny Greek hole in the wall. She walked to JJ's room to get her, smiling. Earlier that day, the hurt of her mother disowning her like that, the idea that she would maybe never see her father again either, had hit her all over again, and her mind rebelled against letting her face emotional pain. It wanted so badly to transmute that to the physical realm, but she hadn't let that happen. She still had the list of alternatives that Reid had drawn up for her, and, quickly scanning it, had found one that sounded silly, but ended up working. Write a letter to the person or thing hurting you. Say whatever you want- only don't mail it. Truth be told, that letter was mostly swear words, all the things Prentiss wanted to scream at her mom but had restrained herself from doing so, but what mattered is that she got through it and felt better now.

"Okay, let's go," JJ said, hugging her as she answered her door. "You look happy, what's the occasion?"

"It's…see, earlier today, I was really feeling bad again because of what my mom did, I felt like I wanted, needed to…you know. But I still have that list-thing Reid gave me, and so I did something different instead. It might not seem like it, JJ, but I really do want to stop. Do you think I want to be a giant mass of scars forever?"

JJ smiled a little. "I'm sure it's not that bad. I'm so proud of you, though! Just never, ever, ever give up. You should have gotten me right away!"

"You were busy, sweetheart. Besides, let's be realistic. You can't be with me every second. I need to learn to deal with those feelings on my own."

"I guess so. But if you can't deal with them, you need to get me, find me somehow. You can't be impenetrably strong and fly solo all the time. Even Superman has a sidekick." JJ said.

Prentiss felt good; her sense of humor seemed to be back for the day. "Beep! Beep! Beep! Corniness alert! Repeat- the levels of corniness are at dangerous levels here!" she joked. For some reason, that bad joke cracked them both up until they were laughing so much they were crying. Prentiss had never cried from laughing before in her life.

A short while later, as JJ and Prentiss entered the restaurant, JJ whispered, "Should we tell them about, you know, us?"

Prentiss smiled. "Definitely. They've all been so worried about me. I want to give them some good news."

They waited for everyone to come in and sit down. "Do you want to say it, or should I?" JJ whispered.

"You. I'm not good at making speeches." Prentiss responded. They were holding hands under the table.

JJ clinked her glass with her fork to get the attention of their now-raucous table. Hotchner and Morgan were involved in a heated debate over which professor was best to take for a statistics course needed for both their majors, and Garcia and Reid were arguing playfully, shoving each other. "Before you stuff your faces with lamb and baklava, Emily and I have an announcement. Well, actually, I have one, and then we have one for both of us."

"Don't leave us hanging!" Garcia protested when she paused.

"Okay then. The first part is that-" JJ swallowed a nervous lump in her throat that she knew had no reason to be there- "I'm a lesbian. Which leads into announcement number two…drumroll, please…Emily and I are, well, together."

"Shut up!" Garcia said happily.

"You and Emily, really? You're a damn fine couple!" Morgan exclaimed.

Hotchner reached across the table, nearly knocking over some platters, to shake their hands. "Congratulations!"

Reid didn't say anything about it until after the dinner was over; he went back towards the dorm and waited for Prentiss to leave for a minute so he could talk to JJ on his own. He stood awkwardly in the doorway, fidgeting.

"JJ, I'm really happy you two are dating. Only be careful. You're going to have to be really willing to stick with Emily, help her, no matter what. Because if you left, if you broke her heart, she'd just go right back to where she started, or worse. And you break her heart- I break your face." Reid said quietly. His seriousness belied the fact that he was smaller and lighter, not to mention three years younger, than both JJ and Emily, and had always been the target, not the bully.

"I'm not going to leave. I've loved her since the moment I first saw her. There is absolutely nothing in the world, nothing she could do, that would make me leave her. I thought if we got together, if she knew someone loved her, she'd feel better. And I intend to stick with her. Really, Reid, I'm touched. But don't worry. She doesn't need protecting from me." JJ said fiercely, eyes alight with a new fire, a new love.

(A/N: I do apologize for the corniness of this chapter! And isn't Reid cute? Please R & R!)