When I run out of breath I pull away and tell her what I've wanted to tell her since the day I met her.
"JJ, I love you. I've loved you from the word go. Now I completely understand if you don't feel the same way. But if you felt anything when I kissed you come with me be with me. Let me take care of you. Let me be your rock."
"Em…" I interrupted her.
"If you didn't however, then I'll turn around, walk out that door and let you live your life with that poor excuse of a man if he makes you happy."
The air in the room evaporates and time slows. That is why even though she responded in less than 30 seconds if feels more like 30 years. She looks me dead in the eyes, gently puts her hands on my hips and with as much force as a stretched rubber band she pulls me the distance between us. It's then that she crushes her mouth to mine and kisses me with as much fervor as when I kissed her. When breathing became an issue we pulled our faces away from each other only wanting to allow as much space between us as was needed to speak but no more.
"Emily Prentiss, what the hell took you so damn long? I've loved you since I met you. I was just too scared because I would rather love you silently than to pronounce my love and have you leave."
For the first time in my life I was speechless so I did the only thing my mind could conceive of doing. I pulled her to me and kissed her again. We stayed that way until we had to brief the team on a case. We stopped outside the conference room door and I squeezed her hand.
"Do we tell them now?" she asked tentatively.
"Baby, they're our friends they'll be happy for us." I reassured her. I kissed her on the cheek, dropped her hand and we went in to face our team, our family.