The next evening, Emily sat in her seat staring out the window, while the jet slid through the night sky. JJ had her nose buried in a case file and Morgan passed out as soon as they had boarded. Emily let out a deep sigh, pulling out her headphones, deciding she would try and rest after such an odd few days.
She had wanted to tell JJ about what happened, but she was struggling to wrap her own mind around all of it. Emily had never been much of a romantic, she had never pined over someone before and she was usually the last to realize when someone was coming on to her. Most people thought she was emotionally unavailable or distant, but the fact of the matter was, Emily Prentiss was simply asexual. She had been in romantic relationships before, but sex had never been an important part of the equation, much to the chagrin of past girlfriends.
When she was fifteen she gave into pressure from her boyfriend to have sex with him and she ended up pregnant at age fifteen. She never told anyone about the pregnancy, except for her best friend who had gone with her when she sought an abortion. Ever since that experience, sex had been tainted in her mind.
As an adult she had always been goal and career driven and growing up, her moving around from country to country didn't lend much to creating lasting relationships. She was used to being alone and over time, she ruled out the idea of a romantic/sexual relationship all together. Relationships made Emily feel vulnerable, something she hated feeling, so she decided she was just destined to be happily independent. It was a mindset that had suited her will thus far, especially while working in a job as demanding as the BAU. But now, when she looked at JJ, she felt a sudden stirring in the depth of her stomach, which she wasn't quite sure how to deal with.
She had never seen a reason to "come out" to the team about her sexuality, because frankly, it was none of their business. There had been plenty of times over the years when team members tried to set her up on blind dates, but she was a pro at getting out of uncomfortable social situations, something she had perfected from being an Ambassador's daughter.
Emily had always kept her personal life separate from her work life the best she could, but now those two worlds colliding in the embodiment of the blonde sitting across from her on the jet. She wasn't even sure how long she had felt this way about JJ, but after spending two days imagining what it could be like, she couldn't ignore it anymore. She wanted to be able to tell JJ about her dream, but knew it would be impossible to do so without admitting how much she 'like-liked' her. And if she admitted the latter part, it meant she would have to come to terms with the fact, there was a possibility JJ felt the same about her. That scared her most of all.
"Emily?"
Emily's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her name coming from across the table. She looked up and took her headphones out of her ears, smiling at the beautiful blonde staring at her.
"Yeah, Jay?"
"I just," JJ broke eye contact when Emily smiled at her, she fumbled with the file in her lap, "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
"I'm fine," Emily reassured. JJ had been over protective, frequently asking about her well being, ever since Emily woke up in the hospital. Emily thought it was adorable how worried JJ was, especially since she had taken worse damage in the past, with seemingly less concern. Something about this case had JJ on edge, but Emily didn't mind the constant wellbeing check-in. There was a pause before JJ forced a small smile as if she wasn't entirely sure she believed the answer.
"Emily?" she asked again.
"Yeah?"
"What was it like, in your..." JJ asked, letting her voice trail off at the end of the question.
"It felt so real. I mean in my head, we never missed a beat, to me, I lived those two days just working the case and to wake up, finding out everything had been a dream, is really unnerving. It's eerie, you know?" Emily said, she shifted in her seat to pull her knees to her chest.
"I can't imagine," JJ admitted. She desperately wanted to ask Emily about what had happened in her dream, but she wasn't sure how to form her question without seeming like she was unnecessarily prying, especially when Emily seemed truly confused at what happened. Emily registered the contemplation on JJ's face and sighed, apparently she was going to tell JJ the truth sooner, rather than later.
"Jayje, it all felt so real," Emily started. She dropped her legs from her chest, leaning her elbows on the table to support her chin while she formulated her reply. "In my mind, we just continued working the case after the bar, because we found out Gentry wasn't our man when he was in custody and two more victims were found. You were there and we were...well, the whole team was there, of course, but you and I...we had...I mean, you see, there was something just...it just felt real." Emily gave up, realising she was just stumbling over her words.
"You mumbled in your sleep, while you were out. Most of the time, I couldn't tell what you were saying, but there were times...I swore I heard my name," JJ looked across the table, her gave meeting Emily's soulful brown eyes, she waited, hoping, searching for some type of confirmation of what she thought she heard.
"Um, yeah, probably. You were a major part of everything that happened," Emily answered shyly. "I mean, we were undercover together, so obviously you were a part of it."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," JJ muttered, wanting desperately to ask further details. To prevent herself from doing just that, JJ looked back down to the file in her lap, indicating to Emily their conversation had ended.
Emily readjusted herself to get comfortable again, she stared out the window, catching JJ's reflection for a moment. "It was nice though," she added in a whisper.
Emily watched intently through the reflection as JJ smiled brightly, while reading over the papers in her hands. JJ had spend every moment next to Emily's hospital bed, praying that Emily would come out relatively unscathed. She had spent hours on end, holding Emily's hand while talking to her softly, unsure if Emily could even hear anything or not. The doctor had mentioned that talking helped sometimes, so JJ had told Emily all sorts of random stories, just so she could keep talking to her. Now, she wanted to figure out if Emily had, in fact, heard any of her words. When JJ ran out of light-hearted anecdotes about the team, she decided to simply be honest about her feelings, telling Emily how much she liked her, but how she was unsure about how to proceed. JJ didn't even know if Emily liked women in a romantic capacity, so it wasn't like she could ask Emily out right if Emily had any recollection of her embarrassing confession. How was she supposed to ask, 'Oh, did you happen to hear me confess how you're all I think about and I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and some days it feels physically painful to be around you, because all I can focus on is the fact I want to kiss you?'
Little did JJ know, Emily was on the same page, right there with her. The pair found themselves in an awkward type of purgatory between reality and Emily's dream, neither of them knowing what to do next.
"I was so worried about you," JJ replied, breaking the silence. Emily turned back from the window to look at JJ again. "I wasn't sure if you...you'd come back to me, US! To US!" JJ corrected. "I wasn't sure if you'd come back to us, the team."
"JJ, it's going to take a lot more than a bad concussion to take me out permanently," Emily laughed. She mindlessly chewed on one of her cuticles, replaying all the times she'd be hurt in the field. "How many times have I been hit in the head? I always come back, I can take way more damage than that. Oh, I'm like a vampire!"
"I'm being serious, Em," JJ admonished. She watched Emily's body language straighten up at the stern tone of her voice.
"Like I said, I'm fine, Jayje," Emily smiled.
JJ watched Emily again, but couldn't figure out what was going through the brunette's head. While she had picked up plenty of skills, working with a group of elite profilers, there was something about Emily that had always stumped her. She could get a read on pretty much every other member of them team, but JJ had never been able to get an honest reading on Emily. Now, more than ever, she wished she could just see inside Emily's intelligent mind. JJ's posture deflated a bit as she realised if she wanted to know how Emily felt, she was going to have to do it the old-fashioned way.
"Emily, would you possibly be interested in having dinner with me?" JJ asked quickly.
Emily immediately stopped what she was doing, lowering her hand from her mouth as she focused again on JJ. Unlike JJ, Emily was a profiler, a very good profiler at that. She noticed the small furrow of JJ's brow, the way the corners of her mouth tilted downwards even though she was trying to force a smile, the way her blue eyes moved back and forth slightly, as she awaited Emily's answer.
"You mean...like a date?" Emily asked.
JJ shifted under the weight of Emily's gaze, "I mean...if you want to? I just thought, maybe, if you're free on Friday..."
"Jennifer, I'd love to," Emily interrupted, a huge grin across her face.
"Oh, really?" JJ replied, slightly unprepared at the possibility Emily would say 'yes'.
"Yes, really. I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday night," Emily replied. She knew she was blushing, but she couldn't take her eyes off of JJ. Was this actually happening? "Wait - I'm awake right now, aren't I?"
JJ laughed, reaching across the table to gently pinch Emily's arm. "You're definitely awake."
She smiled from ear to ear, prompting Emily to do the same, both of them unable to hide their excitement at the sudden turn of events. After a couple of moments, the giddy feeling gave way to nervousness, as Emily was overcome with a wave of vulnerability. Going on a date opened the door to a second date, then a third, and Emily knew what happened around the third date. Most of her romantic endeavours never made it past the third date, because Emily would be honest to her partner about not wanting to have sex, then things just fizzled out. It always happened that way, she didn't blame the other women for leaving, Emily knew most people really did need sex to be a factor in their relationships. Her asexuality just made her less compatible with most women.
But now, she was opening the door to explore a new type of relationship with JJ, which made her overwhelmingly nervous. Last thing she wanted was to lose her best friend because JJ realised she and Emily weren't going to work out romantically. All of these emotions filled Emily with a mixture of anticipation, fear and maybe, just a pinch of hope that JJ wouldn't run when Emily told her the truth. Emily latched on to that tiny bit of hope, letting it quell her storm of feelings.
Meanwhile, JJ was also feeling giddy and nervous. She had wanted to ask Emily on a date for months, but never knew if Emily felt the same about her. Then they went undercover at the bar and Emily kissed her and JJ felt the spark between them. The undeniable spark of possibility. When the night ended with Emily in the hospital, unconscious, JJ was beside herself with worry. She promised herself that when Emily woke up, she wasn't going to waste another moment. Their job meant they never knew what was around the corner and it had taken Emily's near-death experience to remind JJ that they weren't always promised a tomorrow.
"What are you two grinning about?" Derek asked. He sat down next to Emily and glanced back and forth between the women.
"None of your business!" Emily joked as she winked in JJ's direction.
"Wow, sassy as always! Guess you are feeling better," Derek grinned. "Now are you going to tell us about your wondrous trip to Oz or just going to keep us guessing?"
Emily groaned, before realising she could take the opportunity to mess with Derek. "Nothing interesting happened, I mean, unless you count this one part that got a bit steamy," she watched Derek lean in excitedly. "The hotel we had booked only had three rooms available, so we all had to share," Derek's eyes lit up, anticipating where this story was heading. JJ was now curiously leaning in as well, hanging on Emily's every word. "Derek, you and I ended up sharing a room. Which wouldn't necessarily be interesting, except when we got to the room, we found out it only had..." she leaned in to Derek, lowering her voice to nearly a whisper, "one bed."
"What!?" JJ exclaimed, an unexpected wave of jealousy taking hold of her.
"Oh really? Tell me more about this predicament," Derek cooed into Emily's ear, completely unaware of JJ's outburst. His eyes trained completely on Emily, while a toothy grin crossed his face.
Emily kept her eyes on Derek and continued, "At first, I volunteered to sleep on the couch, but you wouldn't let me. So we went to bed together and about mid-way through the night, you ended up cuddling into me, I could feel your breath on the back of my neck..."
Derek was practically salivating at this point and Emily finally broke, throwing her head back with a loud cackle. "Oh my god! I really had you going!"
Derek leaned back, crossing his arms indignantly. "That's not funny, Prentiss."
"I thought it was hilarious," Emily shrugged.
Derek made a show of rummaging around in his pocket for a moment, "Oh look, I found something for you!" He pulled his hand out and shot her his middle finger, causing all three of them to burst into laughter.
Emily wiped tears from her eyes when she finally caught her breath, "No, in all honesty, the dream was just working on the case. It wasn't that exciting."
"I'm just glad to have you back," Derek admitted honestly. He pressed a quick kiss to Emily's forehead. He looked past her, to glance out the window. "I think we're getting ready to land." He got up, playfully shoving Emily's arm, then headed back to his seat to gather his things.
Once he was fully out of earshot, Emily leaned across the table, "It was actually you."
JJ stopped gathering up the paperwork in front of her, looking to Emily with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"There really was one bed...but it was you cuddled up with me," Emily grinned. She got up without another word, going to meet Derek near the front of the plane so she could put her headphones in her bag.
JJ sat in her chair, mouth gaping open at the thought of sharing a bed with Emily. Was this actually happening to her? Had she actually asked Emily on a proper date and Emily said 'yes'? She was basically vibrating with excitement, it was a lot to take in, but JJ couldn't have been happier. What started out with a terrible situation had turned into something full of new promise. She was looking forward to whatever the future held for her and Emily. She settled back in her chair and shoved her files back into her bag as the fasted seatbelt sign illuminated, indicating their decent towards DC.