Chapter Four

When he first met JJ, she was the picture of perfection, of professionalism, of everything he wasn't. It used to drive him insane, honestly. But now… now he gets to see them, her imperfections, and by God does he love them.

I know she's not perfect but she tries so hard for me,
And I thank god that she isn't 'cause how boring would that be.
It's the little imperfections it's the sudden change in plans,
When she misreads the directions and we're lost but holdin' hands;
Yeah I live for little moments like that.

After they decided to become an official couple, she still tried to put up that front; it was as if she was always in liaison-mode. It took her weeks, almost two full months, before she really let her true self show when they weren't at work. He remembered that night perfectly, too.

Flashback

"Hey Emily!" JJ exclaimed, greeting the newest member of the team as she approached the table that they had taken over.

"Hey guys." Emily replied with a smile before turning toward the closest waitress and ordering a drink. "Sorry, I'm late. Had to feed Sergio."

"I'm just glad you made it. The guys were starting to me feel really outnumbered." The blonde chuckled, gesturing to the other four occupants of the table. "Besides, I need someone to dance with!"

Emily laughed. "How much have you had to drink, JJ?"

"Just this one!" She grabbed her friends hand once she had received her drink from the waitress. "And maybe another one!"

"It's about time JJ finally let loose." Rossi commented. "A daughter of a friend of mine went to Georgetown around the same time and knew of her."

"Knew of her?" Derek asked, trying to play it of as a curious co-worker. The team wasn't aware of their change in relationship status just yet and he wasn't about to let them in on that secret. They had briefly discussed what they should tell everyone during the first month when they had begun dating and had agreed to wait until they were steady and stable in the relationship.

"Yeah, she was quite popular apparently. Not that that should surprise us, but she was friends with everyone, really outgoing and always available to have a good time." He explained. "And NOT in that way, Morgan."

Derek chuckled, knowing exactly what Rossi was talking about, since it had taken her almost two months from his surprise dinner to allow herself to that level of intimacy with him. Not that he was complaining; they'd only be together for three months now and only official for the last two of them.

After that comment from Rossi though, Spencer had apparently decided to start rambling off statistics about small town girls being very welcoming and the genuine life of the party versus city girls who may act that way but were, more often than not, doing it for attention. Or something like that; Derek couldn't say that he was even listening. He was more focused on his current girlfriend and his partner dancing together, probably jokingly flirting with the college-aged boys standing near them, just to tease them. He spent most of the night watching them actually, including the moment when one patron got a little too close to Emily and JJ handled the situation without missing a beat.

Later that night, as Derek and JJ walked through the doorway to the blonde's townhouse, it was as if she had given up any pretenses of being completely one hundred percent. In fact, as soon as that door was shut, she began dragging her feet towards the stairs, shedding clothes as she went. Derek had let out a sigh of relief as he watched her, realizing that she finally didn't care that she didn't look or wasn't acting her best. She was exhausted and showing it. That night, she had asked him to hold her and she told him the story of her first-hand experience with a man getting too physical with her in her high school days. He didn't say much; he just pulled her tightly against himself, listened, and told her that he loved her (for the first time). To which she of course responded the same.

The next morning when they woke up, neither of them brought up the topic but she didn't try to pretend that she hadn't let him in on that moment of vulnerability either. Since then, she had gotten more comfortable in the relationship; the looks, touches… they seemed to happen more frequently and in more public places.

Since then, Derek knew that this relationship was the one that was going to last. He was never going to give up on them, regardless of what JJ said, did or thought. He was in it to win it and she was just going to have to agree. The following week, he had gone out to the jeweler's, found the perfect ring, and spent the next nine months preparing for the moment.