Author's Note: So, since you all kept your side of the bargain, I will keep mine. I will apologise for any lack of logic, though. The following two chapters were written long after I should have been tucked up in bed dreaming of anything other than psycho's and hot women. Well, that's partly true at least. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

NEW BEGINNINGS

Emily read the note over several times; analysing each individual word and letter, searching for any possible alternative meaning to what JJ had written. There was none. There actually was none. The meaning was as black and white as it appeared in front of her, no matter how hard her over-thinking mind tried to twist it, and it really did try.

As the welcomed reality set in, she felt herself smile a real, genuine smile for the first time since she'd read those words; for the first time in longer than she could remember. And that smile soon turned to an idiotic grin as butterflies flapped around in her stomach. She felt like a teenager with a crush. No; she felt like a teenager in love. And she didn't care who knew it.

CM-CM-CM

JJ hadn't said a great deal to Garcia after they'd left the parking lot. She didn't actually need to; her silences spoke volumes.

The ever-curious technical analyst had actually managed to keep her words of wisdom to herself for the most part. She knew everything that she needed to know - what had happened with Will last night and the JJ's unspoken feelings for Emily - and ended the conversation with, "I think you know what you need to do, sweetie. That's all I'm saying."

And JJ did know what she needed to do. She didn't understand why it scared her though - she had been given the easy side of the bargain. But she had wanted this for so long, that now that it was within her reach, she didn't know what to do with it. Now it was real, there was a very real possibility of getting hurt; people say things that they don't mean, and what if Emily hadn't meant what she had said?

When the pair returned to work, JJ noticed immediately that Emily wasn't at her desk. She paused for a second and thought about whether she was really ready to take this leap. If she did this, everything changed. Not only would she, for the first time since she was young, be putting her heart on the line - something that she promised herself that she would never do again - but what about work? What about..

Excuses. That's all they were. Of course she was ready. And with that last thought in mind, she headed over to Emily's desk and proceeded to search for a pen and paper.

She didn't know where Emily was but she assumed that it wouldn't be long before she returned, so she quickly wrote down the first thoughts that came into her head. There was no time to read them over, and actually, there was no need to. They were straight from her heart, she meant every word, and the moment that she started picking them apart would be the moment where her courage would likely fail her.

A short while later, JJ sat tucked away in her office, nibbling her thumb, a content smile adorning her face - the smile for being so, so close to what she had wanted all along, the nervous gesture for the possibility that she had misunderstood completely. How could she have, though? What Emily had said was as clear as day.

She turned slightly and took a quick peak through the slits in her blinds. Down in the bull pen, she saw Emily return to her desk and her stomach began doing somersaults. Oh god, what if she had misunderstood? What if what Emily had said wasn't as clear as she had thought?

With her eyes wide she watched as Emily noticed the note and she didn't move an inch as she waited for the brunettes reaction; for some tell tale sign on her face that would let her know if she had in fact made a mistake. Anything.

But she didn't get it; she couldn't read Emily's expression and actually, there really was none. The older agent was still, her eyes fixed firmly on the note, no flicker of movement on her face or in her eyes or anywhere on her incredible damn body that gave JJ any kind of indication as to what she was thinking.

After a few moments more of secretly watching Emily from the safety of her office, JJ stood and began to pace. What the hell have I done? Fuck, fuck. How could I have been so wrong?

She muttered to herself for a while, trying to figure out a way that she could take it back; take back those words and pretend that actually, it was Emily who had misunderstood. That would work, right? No, of course it wouldn't. She hadn't even just said them, she had written them down; they might as well be literally set in stone. Fuck!

So lost in her head, she almost jumped when her office door opened.

She and Emily stood for what seemed like an eternity, both staring at each other, daring the other to say or do something. It was Emily who moved first. Slowly, she turned and closed the door behind her before turning back to face JJ, who was still rooted to the spot, totally unsure of herself and the situation.

Without saying a word, Emily walked towards her and JJ immediately opened her mouth to speak; to begin the back-pedal that she'd been planning in her mind before Emily had appeared at her door, but she was soon silenced by soft lips against her own. A slight murmur was the only result of the words that she'd tried to speak and within seconds reality set in and she lifted her hands to cup Emily's face.

The kiss wasn't rushed; it wasn't rough and primal like they'd grown accustomed to. It was delicate, and sensuous, and full of, well, love. It was ironic that their arrangement up until this point had been a means of releasing pent up emotions that dragged them down daily, and yet it was this one simple gesture that actually wound up doing that. It was perfect. It was everything that a first kiss should be, and in so many ways, it was their first kiss.

Their foreheads fell together as they finally broke apart, a goofy school girl grin on each of their faces.

Emily laughed; a combination of relief and a genuine humour that she found in the situation. The whole past three months seemed completely pointless in hindsight; it seemed ridiculous to think that they could have had this result a lot sooner had they just talked to one another. But their arrangement had had no place for talking, only healing. Something that actually, they were only just now achieving.

"What's funny?" JJ questioned, genuinely confused.

Emily smiled. "Nothing." Before pressing another gentle kiss to the blonde's lips. "You wanna do something tonight?"

"I can't. I'm busy."

"Oh." Emily dropped her gaze, dejected, her smile suddenly gone.

Placing her finger on the underside of Emily's chin, JJ lifted her head to meet her gaze. "I'm busy tonight." She paused. "Because I'm planning my day with you tomorrow. It's a Saturday. And I don't plan on letting you go anywhere. Even for a second. I want to do this properly."

Her eyes lighting up, Emily grinned. "Okay. I can't complain about that."

Honestly, she liked the prospect of doing this properly; of having a real date, with real conversations, and real kisses that weren't just a means to escape. She wanted to snuggle on the sofa and watch infuriating movies that play out the same cliche story lines. She wanted to walk to the park hand in hand the following morning or become those stereotypical Sunday drivers or dog walkers; they didn't have a dog, but they could get one. She wanted to discuss their future, plan how they would make this feasible around work. She wanted to laugh and know that it was real, she wanted to dream and know that those dreams were shared. Honestly, she wanted to be that cheesy couple that she found in those movies that she loved to hate so much.

Right now, she didn't want to escape; she wanted reality.

The two women kissed once more; broken kisses that were more smiles pressed together than anything else. But soon enough, their cute little bubble of cliche heaven was shattered and they were forced to face the reality that there was still three hours left of work - they weren't certain that Hotch would be too appreciative if they spent those three hours making out in a darkened corner of JJ's office.

As Emily reached for the door handle, she stopped for a second and turned back to face JJ. "I love you, ya know."

Smiling, JJ replied. "I love you, too, Em."