Author's Note: Just a short chapter. Ridiculously short. In fact, it can hardly be called a chapter; but it is necessary, and I didn't want to force some more text just for the sake of it being a sufficient length. Maybe I just wanted to let you all stew a little longer before you find out what happens with Will and JJ. :)

Disclaimer: I still don't own Criminal Minds.

THE GIFT

The scream that ripped from JJ's lips and tore through the rush of sound in Emily's mind almost pushed tears from her eyes, more so than the hands that reached for her - the hands that never reached for her but now wouldn't seem to let up. She knew that it was fake comfort that the blonde was needing - the same semblance of comfort that she herself had searched for many times in her younger years after a meaningless encounter with some nameless guy or girl - and as she acquiesced and wrapped her arms around JJ's small frame, she clutched and grabbed and clasped at any tethering rope that she could find in her own mind to keep her on solid ground. She had hit rock bottom, she knew what this really was now without any room for question, and she could not allow herself to fall further into the fantasy when that was all that it was; a fantasy.

But the needy fingers that traced almost desperately down her toned abdomen caught her off guard and dropped her some place where she was helpless. She tried to get out, tried to regain the power that JJ's wondering hand had over her and tried to resist the temptation of the climax that she knew that she couldn't fight tonight. But then that wondering hand stopped, the body against her shifted, moving her onto her side and then molding against her back, and those fingers that always seemed to rip her pretend world apart with ease teased along her inner thigh from behind as the subtly thrusting hips against her arse fueled her imagination.

"What would you like, Emily?" JJ asked the question that was so laced with crytpicism that she almost felt angry that Emily hadn't noticed. What did Emily want? This? "This?" She verbalised the thought as her fingers glided through Emily's wet folds, thankful that the brunette was facing away and couldn't see the pained look on her face at each whimper that fell from full, parted lips.

Emily turned her face further away and buried it into the plush, white pillow as she fell victim to those teasing fingers. This was one of her favourite positions and JJ knew that. God dammit, JJ knew that and she was using it as yet another means to manipulate her into her game, to push her further into the flame, to prevent her from leaving. Why couldn't she just let her go? She had Will now; why did she need her too?

"Or maybe you need this."

JJ's words were firm, but the bitterness in them was lost on Emily as three fingers stretched and filled her from behind, and she naturally allowed her own leg to wrap backwards around JJ's, opening herself further to the fingers that she was losing to. But they felt exquisite and for a moment she forgot that this was, indeed, losing. It felt an awful lot like winning.

"Is that what you want, baby?" JJ's voice almost broke but somehow she held back the telling lump in her throat as she thrust deeper into Emily's pussy, but the surge of emotions in her veins won over when she gained no response, and she couldn't help the fingers that tangled tightly in raven hair, twisting the brunette's euphoric face to meet hers, just as she couldn't help the demand that jumped from her lips almost angrily. "Tell me!"

"Yes!" Emily whimpered, her arse thrusting back against JJ and her delicious fingers with abandon now, and with no care for the fact that it was almost a certainty that the blonde could see every secret etched across her blissful face.

JJ's heart broke. It was unfair to feel anything negative towards Emily when the brunette had no clue what she had really been asking - she knew that - but she couldn't help it and her disappointment and heart break manifested itself in fingers and words and teeth, all pushing and biting and taunting Emily to the orgasm that was apparently the only reasoning for their little trysts. "Rub your clit, Emily. Help me give you what you want."

She missed the bitterness in JJ's words once again as she blindly followed the command, wholly lost now to the promise between her unashamedly parted thighs as she rubbed in time with the blonde's relentless thrusts. She could feel herself tightening around JJ's fingers, that familiar feeling somewhere deep inside telling her that the end was nigh - in more ways than one.

Silent tears descended JJ's eyes and she buried her face into the brunette's hair, unable to look at her anymore. She didn't want Emily to see her tears, to figure out why they were there; she quite simply wanted her to come and then leave. To just go and leave her alone to figure out how to get herself out of this tangled web that she had woven. But as Emily did come, her impossibly short fingernails cutting into her skin and undeniably sexy, beautiful, whimpers falling from her lips as she did, JJ softened; her repeated sentiment almost soothing as she coaxed Emily through the last ripples of pleasure. "Come for me, baby. Come for me.."

But those soothing words for Emily were more like mocking pin pricks to her heart; stabbing and hurting just enough to make her notice but not enough for her to drastically force the pain to stop. So as her orgasm seized, JJ's whispered words still gushing through her ear as shaking fingers were removed from her still spasming pussy, she rolled over, wrapped her arms around the blonde and pressed their lips together; silencing the words and giving her one more moment of ignorance.

But what she didn't know, was that on the other side of that kiss, on the other side of the embrace that kept JJ's face buried in her chest and out of her line of sight, was that sad, blue eyes were staring regretfully, hopelessly; and thirty minutes later, once she was certain that JJ was fully asleep, she reluctantly untangled herself from that goddess-like body, pulled on her discarded clothes with a little more difficulty than usual and headed for the door. She couldn't help it, she looked back, and the moment that her eyes fell upon the peacefully sleeping blonde, she silently scolded herself for being so stupid. Call yourself intelligent? Heh, look where that lead you. You're nothing but a fool for her.

The journey home was spent arguing with herself, spinning in circles and twisting and whirling and jumping back and forth between right and wrong, between stupidity and a painful clarity, between lust and what - even in the face of certainty - she was still trying to convince herself wasn't love. And as she stopped at a red light - a flash of red in her own mind as one reality became suddenly indisputable - her open palms met the steering wheel with enough force to almost shatter the tiny bones in them. "God dammit, Emily! So fucking stupid!"

Her foot touched the floor as the lights changed, her car screeching off and disturbing the silence of the quiet neighbourhood as she replayed one mantra in her mind. Never fall in love with someone who is out of your league..

Pulling up outside her building almost thirty minutes later, having taken the long route home, she climbed out of her car with a little more composure. Every part of her insides still twisted and contorted painfully, but in the place where she felt it mattered - on the surface - she looked no different. Even if she was so distracted once she finally made it into the building and to her floor that she almost tripped over the item on her doormat. It wasn't until her palm met the door to stop herself from actually falling that the large bouquet of flowers resting against the wall even entered her conscious mind.

She stared at them confused for a second, blinked several times as her mind tried to figure out who they could be from. JJ? She immediately thought, almost hoping. Don't be stupid, Prentiss. Why the hell would JJ buy you flowers? JJ doesn't even have dinner with you before she wants you to fuck her. Get real.

With that last thought, frustrated that every damn thing always came back to JJ, Emily bent down to pick up the bouquet as she unlocked her front door and entered her condo. Struggling to hold them, she locked the door behind her and headed towards the kitchen, placing them on the counter before ridding herself of her holster, phone and credentials. She figured that she should put the flowers in water but was too tired to care and opted instead for watching TV for a while, hoping and needing to quiet her wondering mind, at least to enough of a minimum to allow her even a couple of hours of sleep. But as she idly flicked on the TV with the remote and turned to head towards her sofa, she noticed a small, white card poking out in amongst the flowers.

Lifting the card to view, Emily read the words written in black ink and stared blankly for a few moment, feeling almost as though she should recognise what she was reading and yet at the same time had no clue why that would be. She was far too tired to care though, far too exhausted to figure out that conundrum too along with the one that was Jennifer Jareau, and without another thought she tossed it to the counter, wandered into the living room and collapsed against the plush cushions of her sofa.