I woke up the next morning, and I could feel the effects of the night before. My head was throbbing, my eyes were swollen, and my stomach was churning. The after effects of breaking up with JJ was a lot like having a hangover, but about a million times worse. Plus, hangovers didn't usually carry the extra sting of a broken heart.

I didn't want to go to work that day. I really just wanted to call off sick of something, but I know that wouldn't fly, and if we got a new case, I'd get called in anyway. Still, I didn't want to have to face her...not after what had happened the night before.

I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for work. I took my time, because if I was late to work, I figured JJ would already be in her office looking over case files. When I got in, I was pleased (and sad) that I was right. I just hoped that the team wouldn't talk to me today. I knew Derek would try to make small talk to lighten my mood a little bit, but I could handle that. Reid didn't usually talk to me one-on-one, so no worries there. If Hotch or Rossi talked to me, I knew it would be about work. Again, I could handle that. In fact, I wouldn't mind if they had some assignment they needed me to go off on for a while.

There were only two people I was really worried about. Obviously, I didn't want to talk to JJ. She'd just try to apologize or make amends, and I really wasn't ready for that yet. Then, there was Garcia. The woman could read almost anyone like a book. She may have not been a profiler, but she might as well have been. I didn't want her to read me today. Not after what happened. Having Morgan know about everything was enough. If Penelope knew, too, I didn't think I could deal with it.

I sat at my desk trying to hide from the world, when Derek came over to me.

"Hey," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm better than I thought I would be, actually." That was a lie, but I wasn't about to break down in front of him again, especially not at work. I knew he knew I was full of it, but he let it slide.

"That's good. Just know I'm here if you need to talk."

"Need to talk about what?" I heard a voice say behind Morgan. It was Penelope.

"Hey, Garcia," I said. "How was your weekend?"

"Oh, same old, same old. Got to see a lot of my two favorite boys," she said, winking at Morgan. Garcia was lucky that Kevin was so trusting. "Last night got cut short, though. Derek said it had something to do with you, so spill."

"Um...I think I'm gonna go get some coffee," Morgan said. He left without another word. I could've killed him.

Garcia looked after his retreating form, then at me. "Okay, what's going on with you two? You're being all secretive."

"Nothing. He's just helping me through some stuff, that's all." I REALLY didn't want to have this conversation/

"Okay, what kind of stuff. You know I have to know everything. I can't be the all-knowing goddess if you all start keeping secrets behind my back."

"Garcia, it's not a big deal-"

"Oh my god," she cut me off and leaned in closer to me. "Are you two...involved?"

"No!" I said a lot louder than I meant to. "God no! Not to say he's not attractive or anything."

"Yeah, you'd have to be blind and deaf to think he was anything but delicious." I gave Garcia a smile. She did have a knack for brightening up my day. "Besides, I know you play for the other team. That's really the only reason I'd be shocked if you two got together."

My eyes got wide. "What did you just say?"

"Seriously, Emily, did you think it was a secret? You're not exactly the femmest lady I've ever met." I glared at her, and she threw her arms up in defense. "Not to say you're butch or anything! I just mean...well, you always pinged my gaydar. And my gaydar is never wrong." She smiled at me.

"You really do know everything, don't you?" I asked her.

"I try," she said before remembering why she had started talking to me in the first place. "Although, I don't know what's going on with you, so I must be told."

I was about to reply with yet another avoidance of the discussion when I saw JJ walk out of her office and up to me.

"Hey, Emily," she said.

"Hello, Agent Jareau." I knew it was overly formal, but I couldn't bring myself to be casual around the woman who had turned my world upside-down. I knew it hurt her, so I loosened up a little bit. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, just tired. I didn't sleep very well last night."

Garcia smiled at her. "What, did Will keep you up all night?" she asked suggestively.

I felt like I was going to vomit. I didn't even hear the rest of the conversation that the two of them had. I knew that JJ was looking at me, trying to read my face, but I'd thrown up my walls, and I was determined to not let her break them down again. I felt her walk away, and I relaxed some...but not much.

"Okay," Garcia said, bringing me back to my senses. "What the hell was that?"

"Huh?" I asked.

"You went totally non-responsive on us, Em."

"Oh, sorry, I just kind of got lost in thought. There's a lot going on in my head." That wasn't totally a lie...but it was pretty far from the truth.

It was like a light bulb went off in Garcia's head. "Wait a minute...is there something going on between you and JJ?"

I looked at the ground and shook my head. "No, there isn't."

"Don't lie to me, Emily. I'm not blind. Are you two a couple?"

"No! We're not a couple, so just butt out, okay?" Garcia was a little taken aback, and I immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry, Penelope. I didn't mean to go off on you like that."

"Hey, no worries. I guess I did push you a little too hard. I'll just leave you alone." She turned around and started to walk away.

"Pen, wait," I said. I took a deep breath. "There is something going on between me and JJ. At least, there was until last night."

Garcia looked at me, disbelief written all over her face. "Are you serious?" I nodded. "I can't believe this. JJ is my best friend. How could I have not seen this going on?"

"We were really quiet about it. I think only Derek knows."

"Derek knows and he didn't tell me?! Oh that sneaky son of a-"

"It's not his fault," I said. "He wanted to tell you, but I swore him to secrecy."

There was a silence between us as Garcia processed her new information.

"So how ling has this been going on?" she finally asked.

"About a year," I replied.

"A year? That long?" I nodded. "But it ended last night?"

"Yeah. She broke it off."

Garcia sighed. "How serious were the two of you? I mean, she's still with Will, right?"

Ugh, I hated even hearing that stupid name. "Yeah, she's still with him. That's why she left, actually. She said she couldn't hurt him anymore."

"Did he know she was cheating?" she asked.

"God no. He would've killed me by now. At least, he would've tried." Garcia smiled at me, and I kept talking. "We were...it's hard to say how serious we were. I love her, and she said she loved me...but obviously not enough to leave him..." I trailed off, and Garcia pulled me into a hug.

"Sweetie, it's okay. You'll be okay. I just can't believe this all happened."

"Neither can I," I replied.

"Well, if you need anyone to talk to, you know I'm here, right?"

I smiled at her. "Yeah, I knew you'd say something like that."

"Okay, I have to go and do some research for JJ. Are you gonna be alright?" she asked. I nodded, and she headed off to her office.

Talking to Garcia had actually surprisingly made me feel a little bit better about everything...that is until I saw JJ walking up to my desk again.

"Hey, can I see you in my office for a second?" she asked me. I wanted to say no and tell her to go to hell, but I figured that would look pretty weird to everyone around us, so I just followed her to her office. She closed the door behind us and turned to me. "What were you talking about with Penelope?"

"I really don't think it's any of your business, Jareau." I was proud of myself for sounding so confident.

"I...I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to know." She sat down at her desk. "I don't like the thought of you saying bad things about me, even if I do deserve it."

I shook my head. "I didn't say anything bad about you. We just talked. She was just trying to know what was going on." I tried to lighten the mood. "You know how Garcia is about gossip. She must know everything."

JJ laughed a little bit. "True." We dropped into an awkward silence that I didn't know how to break. She sighed. "You know, I really am sorry about everything...and I really did mean it when I said I wanted us to be friends."

I nodded. "I know."

"Okay," she said, "so why have you been avoiding me all morning?"

"It's not like I can just get over this in one night. In time, maybe, we can be friends, but right now...right now, I don't know."

We fell into the world's most awkward silence. She just looked at me, and I looked just about anywhere else.

"You hate me."

I wasn't even sure she'd said it. It had barely been above a whisper, but by the look on her face, I could tell she had.

"I don't hate you, Jen-" I started, but then corrected myself, "JJ. I could never hate you. I'm just going to have to let go, that's all. It's going to take some time, but-"

"What if I don't want you to let go?"

I knew I'd heard her right that time, I just couldn't believe it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"I...I love you. You know that, and I'm having a hard time seeing what the right decision in this situation is." I saw a tear go down her cheek, and I so desperately wanted to wipe it away, but I held back and listened to her talk. "Everything in me wants you, Emily. My heart is screaming at me to tell you to take me back, but my head is telling me that I'm with Will and I owe him something. Not to mention the fact that my parents would disown me if they ever found out about you. I mean, they love Will..."

"But you don't," I said. "You shouldn't do this for them."

"But I feel like I owe them something, too. They've done so much for me."

"Don't you feel like you owe yourself some happiness from time to time?" I asked her. I knew the answer. JJ never did anything for her self unless it went along with what everyone else wanted, too.

JJ looked down at her desk. "I want you so badly Emily, it's just-"

Her cell phone ringing cut her off, and she picked it up with an annoyed look on her face.

"Jareau...oh hey." I knew who it was from the fake enthusiasm in her voice. Once again, Will LaMontagne had gotten in the way. She kept talking. "I'm fine...everything's okay." Pause. "No, I haven't been crying, I'm just a little stressed, that's all." Pause. "What am I doing for lunch?" She looked up at me, asking me with her eyes if it was okay to go with him. I nodded, and she seemed disappointed. "Nothing, we can eat at the diner around the corner from the office. See you then." With that, she hung up the phone.

I looked at her, and I could tell that she'd wanted me to object to her going out with Will.

"You know," I said, "sometimes, I wish you could just come out and say what you really want to say. I'm sick of trying to figure you out, JJ." I stormed out of the office, not giving her a chance to try to get me to stay. I knew if she got that chance, I'd stay, and we'd keep talking in circles. It was starting to give me a headache.

Will walked in not too long after I'd let JJ's office. I wanted to punch him, or at the very least, glare at him so he knew how very unwelcome he was in my eyes, but I didn't. I just stared at my desk, and tried to concentrate on my paperwork.

Before the happy couple went out to lunch, however, Will stopped them in the middle of the bullpen.

"Okay everybody," he said. "I hope I'm not bothering you all, but I have a something that I want to do. Something that can't wait." He turned to JJ, who had an annoyed expression that made me inwardly smile. "Baby, we've been together for quite a while now, and I think this has waited for long enough."

I couldn't believe what was unfolding in front of my eyes as the bumbling idiot got down on one knee.

"Now, JJ," he said, "I already talked to your parents, and they've given us their blessing." He pulled a small, velvet box out of his jacket pocket. "Will you marry me?