Author Note – I was going to leave it for all of you imagine your perfect date for them, but seeing as there was such a high demand for a second chapter… and because people asked so nicely, I'm in the middle of my Derek/Emily CM marathon with my laptop open x

Crazy Idea – chapter two

There was a pile of clothes on her bed from where she had been trying to decide what to wear. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small bulge appear, heard a meow, and Sergio's head popped out from underneath a dress that she had discarded. Emily smiled at her cat before rescuing him from the clothes. He squirmed out of her grasp and scurried out of the room to seek the peaceful solace of the living room.

Three weeks ago she and Garcia had brunch, JJ had married Will, and while Emily had spent the evening dancing with her friends, her main dancing partner for the evening had been Morgan. Three weeks ago Morgan had convinced her to make their dinner a proper date. He had fought her reluctance and had been quite persuasive.

She felt her body tingle at thought of that night after they had arrived back at her apartment.

"Is it such a crazy idea?" He asked.

Their eyes locked and she could see the guarded apprehension in them as he put his heart on the line. He was braver than she was. There was so much at stake. Unable to withstand his intense stare Emily looked away.

"Morgan, it's not that simple," she told him as she turned towards the counter to reach for the sugar.

"You didn't say no," Morgan's voice was soft and gentle, and Emily couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spin. Her heart was thundering in her chest.

"What about the team?" Emily asked hesitantly.

"Do you think I would be willing to throw that away if there wasn't more to this?" Emily closed her eyes, her hands had a tight grip on the counter top. "More to us?" Emily heard his uncertainty in his voice waiting for a sign from her.

But she wasn't able to put a voice to her emotions. Was this worth the risk? They had been closer than ever since Emily had returned to the team. The more time they spent together, the line between them became blurred. She hadn't realised it until Penelope had started questioning the amount of time they spent together outside of work. The realisation had hit her like a ton of bricks with the emotions that it evoked in her. She had been fighting them for a long time.

"Em?" his voice broke threw her thoughts. Emily felt him talking to her from over her shoulder. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't heard him move closer. His hands moved gently as he placed them on her waist to spin her round to face him. "Give it a chance Em. It's just a date, no pressure I promise."

Emily opened her eyes and found herself staring into his deep brown pools. Taking a deep breath she began to speak. "I didn't say no," Emily whispered. Immediately she saw the relief wash over Morgan as he gave her a small smile.

"So it's a yes?" Their eyes held for a beat before she nodded.

"Yes," Emily returned his small smile. "Something's are worth the risk," she whispered.

They had continued to stare at one another and the tension in the room had become palpable. She could feel electric pulsing from the hands that still held her waist, but she didn't shake them off. In fact, Emily shifted closer to him as he bent his face slowly towards hers.

Emily stood in front of her wardrobe as she tried to shake the memories of that night from her brain. She never got the chance to find out if he was going to kiss her because Sergio had made his presence known by knocking over the coffee jar behind her. They had sprung apart and after clearing up the mess, they drank their coffee, making small talk. He had left a short while later, placing a kiss on her cheek as she walked him to the door. Morgan's hand lingered on her other cheek as he looked at her with longing, which Emily was sure was reflected in her own eyes. Emily felt a twinge of disappointment when he had left her apartment. She had wanted him to kiss her.

They had back to back cases for the three weeks since, so had been unable to schedule their date. Till tonight. Penelope had been unusually quiet about the whole thing; Emily didn't know whether or not to be relieved. While Penelope could go over the top with things, Emily knew deep down it was out of love and Emily would have liked to have someone to talk her fears through with. It had been a long three weeks, full of meaningful glances.

They had been so busy; Emily and Morgan had no time to talk over what had happened in her apartment, there hadn't been appropriate moment to talk about rescheduling. When Hotch had announced they had the weekend off of rotation, they had all but fled the bullpen. Emily had been about to get into her car when Morgan caught up to her and lightly tapped her shoulder making her jump. He had held up his hand in front of him, to show that he wasn't a threat.

"What were you thinking, sneaking up on me like that?" Emily asked him as she tried to get her breathing under control.

"Sorry," he apologised. He stumbled over his words as he continued. "I, uh, was wondering if…I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner tomorrow night, reschedule like we arranged." Morgan's voice was low as he looked around them to see if anyone was paying attention to them, but the car park was deserted.

"Sounds good," Emily told him. "How about the Italian place on 4th? I'll meet you there at eight." He shook his head, and Emily was confused.

"I'll pick you up. It's a date remember?" Morgan gave her his usual charm smile as she nodded. They stood there looking at one another and they shifted closer. When they were within touching distance a car engine started and they sprung apart. As Emily's darted around the car park to find the offending noise she heard the car driving down the ramp from the level above. Morgan's deep laugh echoed through the car park, causing Emily to look back at him. "We're gonna have to get better on our timing huh?" He began to walk to his car. "I'll see you tomorrow night Em."

Morgan was due to pick her up in twenty minutes and Emily was still deciding what to wear. She wanted tonight to happen, she had barely thought of anything else since Penelope had started questioning her a few weeks ago.

Peeking out from between her clothes, she saw a turquoise sleeve. Dividing the clothes with her hands she looked at the wrap round dress. It looked good on her. Pulling it from the hanger, Emily slipped it on, fastening the black tie on her hip. She put on her black heels and a snug black cardigan. Her make-up and hair had been done before she started looking for something to wear.

A knock sounded through the apartment as Emily took one last look at her reflection in the mirror. As she opened her front door, Emily saw the nervousness in his eyes.

"Hi," Morgan said, and Emily held back a chuckle as they stood staring at each other for a few moments. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," she managed to breathe out. Emily waved him in behind her as she went to find her purse. Emily turned around to find Morgan standing in the doorway of the living room. As they locked eyes, they both gave a nervous chuckle. "Why are we so nervous? It's not like we haven't been to dinner before." Emily took little comfort in the fact he was affected as much as she was.

"Because, this means more than it has before," he told her. "I know I said no pressure, but I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I have no feelings for you. First and foremost, you are my friend. That alone makes this more important than any other date I have ever had; I'm under a lot of pressure here not to screw up one of the closest friendships I have ever had." Emily swallowed the lump that formed in her throat.

"We both are," she said, finally finding her voice. "How about we go to dinner, and see what happens?" Morgan nodded giving her a small smile, more relaxed than he was a few moments ago.

He led the way out of the apartment and waited while she locked up. There was a comfortable silence as they drove to the restaurant. It was quiet for a Saturday night, but then it wasn't near the city centre. The food was terrific, but never crowded. The type of place you wouldn't realise was there unless you went looking for it. The waiter greeted them and sat them at an intimate table on the raised platform at the back of the restaurant, just hidden by one of the protruding wall dividers. Soft music was playing in the background, candlelight flickering and fairy lights adorned the naked brick walls.

"Are you going to start searching for another house?" Morgan asked as they looked at the menus.

Emily shook her head. "No, I was so nervous about the last one I was quite relieved when it fell through. I'm going to keep renting for a while before starting to look again."

After that conversation flowed freely between them and they continued their meal talking and laughing at each other's jokes, all the while leaning further into one another. They talked late into the night, their usual banter taking over as they became more relaxed during the evening. Neither of them realised how late it was until some of the waiters began putting the chairs up on the other tables. They were the only customers left in the restaurant. Morgan gave the waiter a guilty look as he signalled for the bill. After paying the bill they left the restaurant. As they walked towards Morgan's car, Emily's arm, shoulder down to fingertips, brushed with his. She felt his fingers twitch hesitantly before they curled around hers. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Morgan smile when she didn't pull away.

As they reached his car, Morgan went to open the door for her, but Emily pushed herself against it keeping it shut, standing in between him and the car. She saw him swallow nervously as he took a small step towards her. Emily's hands lightly held the lapels of his jacket.

"So, uh, was it a crazy idea?" Morgan asked her. His aftershave filled her senses as he leant a bit closer.

Emily shook her head. It had been a lovely evening, one she hoped to repeat. "No, it wasn't. I had a great time, wasn't much different from when we've been out before."

"There is one thing I would like to do that is different." Morgan bent his head slowly so Emily could stop him or push him away if she wanted to. But she didn't, she leant up towards him as she tightened her grip on his jacket and she pulled him closer. Their lips met softly with a gentle pressure. Morgan's hand touched her shoulders and he ran them down to her waist to pull her closer to him as the kiss deepened. Emily moaned quietly as Morgan pulled away. "I want to do that again," he whispered.

Emily bit her lip as she nodded her agreement. "Good," she told him and mirrored the smile that he gave her.

"We can take this slow," he paused. "I don't want to ruin this by rushing in." Again she nodded; the last thing she wanted was to lose him by going too fast.

Morgan reached behind her to open the car door for her. He drove her home and walked her to her door. Once there, Morgan bent to place a chaste kiss on her cheek, but Emily turned her head at the last moment and their lips met again. Emily pulled back first this time. "Good night Morgan," she smiled as she opened her door and took a step inside. Emily turned back to look at him.

"Good night Emily, I'll see you in the morning."

…

On Monday morning, Penelope was turning on her screens when she saw the takeout box on her desk. She smiled as she read the small note attached.

'Courtesy of Mary, she won the bet x'

Penelope opened the box to find waffles and peaches.