I've been meaning to tell you

Emily sits on the terrace of the brunch place they agreed on and waits. It's just warm enough to sit outside, especially in direct sunlight. She ordered a coffee coming in -the coffee cart was loaded with different coloured mugs, and she'd chosen the lavender one- and sips on it, shaking her leg without realising it. The coffee's just a bit too hot still, and it burns the tip of her tongue. "Shit", she curses silently and sets her mug down with a bit too much of a thud, spilling a drop or two. It's been a while since they could just talk without there being an active case or one they just finished looming over them. She checks the time, 11.10. They agreed on 11. She's just about to take out her phone and start typing out a text, when two blondes appear on the terrace, one of them pushing a stroller and the other carrying shopping bags.

"Sorry we're a little late", says a very familiar voice. Emily smiles as she turns to look at the approaching women. She gets up greeting them and hugs them both a little clumsily over the shopping bags and stroller.

"I see you took the little guy out as well", she points out and looks the stroller up and down. It's not enough that Garcia's carrying two armfuls of shopping bags, all different sizes. The bottom and handle of Henry's stroller are also loaded with bags. "And loaded him up, Jesus, how many bags are there?"

"Auntie Penelope got a bit out of hand", JJ laughs fondly, wedging the stroller between the fence and their table and sitting down between it and Emily. Garcia piles all of the bags on the chair opposite JJ and is about to sit down but then bolts back upright.

"I'm going to go up and pay all our brunches and get started on the buffet table. I see Em's got a cuppa already, but can I bring you something to drink?" She directs the question at JJ, who smiles at her.

"Aww, thanks PG. If they've got decaf coffee, I'd love a cup."

"Coming right up!"

"I paid for mine when I came in, but thanks for the offer, hun!"

Garcia makes her way over to the counter inside the building. Emily turns to JJ.

"I didn't know you guys were planning a morning shopping run, I would've loved to join!"

"Would you?" JJ sounds doubtful. "If I recall, your last words when setting up our brunch were 'fine, let's do 11 and not a minute earlier or you will be staring down the barrel of my gun'." She copies Emily's grumpy tone a little too accurately even through the layers and layers of exaggeration, and Emily laughs at how well her friends knows her.

"Alright, so I'm not a fan of early mornings on my days off", Emily admits, throwing her hands up in defeat. "But you know I would've made an exception for little Henry."

"I'm sorry, Em. It's not like we schemed to go without you, Pen just asked me what I was doing before the brunch and I told her I'm gonna pick up a few things for him", JJ explains. "Next thing I know, she's going aunt-zilla and drowning us in presents. Besides, if you were going to make an exception for Henry, you would've needed to get up much earlier. We got up around 6. He naps a lot right now, and by the time I got him out the door, he was asleep in his stroller. He should be waking up soon, though."

"You woke up at 6?" Emily stares at JJ, her mouth hanging open and her eyebrows apparently aiming for her hairline.

"No, we woke up at 5. We got out of bed at 6", JJ corrects with a sigh. "Henry loves sleeping during the day but by god does he wake up early in the morning."

Garcia reappears, carrying a tray with a plateful of food and two cups of coffee. The food looks delicious: salads, bread with different toppings, a fruit cup and savoury pastries.

"You guys, they've upgraded the buffet. There's so many options!" She sets down the tray, hands the baby blue cup to JJ, sits down and grabs the light pink cup. "Now you go get food, I'll watch over my favourite little boy!"

By the time Emily and JJ return to the table with their plates, Garcia is halfway through a puff pastry filled with cheese and spinach. Henry's stroller wiggles, and JJ sighs in desperation, afraid her son has woken up before she's had time to eat. Fortunately, he just needed to stretch in his sleep, and the three women have time to enjoy their meals. They talk about nice things, like how fast Henry is growing and all the new things he's constantly learning, and the TV shows all three of them watch. The closest they get to a work-related topic is Garcia and Kevin's relationship. There's a more demanding wiggle of the stroller, followed by a cry. The plates are empty, and Emily and Garcia are working on their second cups of coffee. JJ moves to pick Henry up, but Garcia shoots her a look and insists to be the one to pick him up. JJ shrugs and starts digging for his bottle instead.

"Hi there, hey", Garcia babbles to the baby as she picks him up. He kicks around and makes adorable awaking-baby noises. "Hi Henry, aren't you just the sweetest wittle baby boy? Are you hungwy? Mommy's getting your bottle."

JJ chuckles as she hands Garcia the bottle. She starts feeding him, constantly babbling. PG really loves that baby, and Emily has a hard time believing something so beautiful and pure exists, let alone came from her friend.

"How is Will with fatherhood?"

"He's amazing. I couldn't do it without him", JJ sighs, reluctantly tearing her eyes off of her son and onto her dark-haired friend. "Him working locally allows for just a little bit more leeway than what we do, but not much. He truly makes the most of his time at home."

"That's amazing. He adores you, doesn't he?" Emily does not return JJ's gaze, but instead her eyes stay on Henry. JJ picks up on this and notices the wistfulness in her face.

"I hear your man's a pretty decent father as well", she hints. "How's the stepmotherhood coming along?" Emily's face falls and JJ grimaces. Even Penelope shifts her focus from the cooing baby in her arms to Emily.

"Right. That. I've been meaning to tell you." JJ and Penelope immediately catch on.

"No!"

"What happened?"

"He… Got back together with his ex-wife." It's not the first time she's said it out loud, but it still doesn't feel easy. It almost embarrasses her to admit, even though it was in no way her fault.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Oh honey I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, I've had time to process it."

"Right, but you do have to talk about it to really get over it, right? And that's what we're here for", Penelope offers kindly, urging Emily to speak up about her feelings instead of brushing them off the way she tends to.

"Uh, I have. I've had really nice conversations about it, actually." Emily's cheeks feel warmer as she's reminded of the coffee runs she's been going on recently. She hides her inevitable smile by bringing her coffee mug closer to her face and taking a long swig.

"Who with? You don't have other friends", Garcia blurts out, visibly upset. Henry fusses and seems less and less happy.

"PG!" JJ hushes and reaches for her baby over the table. Garcia stands up to let JJ take him.

"What? It's true."

"There are more members in our team than just the three of us", Emily reminds Penelope with a disbelieving scoff.

"But they're boys, that's different!"

"As if you don't have half of your heart-to-hearts with Morgan", Emily points out, growing frustrated but also slightly amused. It's clearly a big deal to Garcia to be considered the best friend, the trustee.

"Spence is an amazing soundboard and supporter for me", JJ chimes in as Henry settles into her arms.

"So, what? You're discussing your breakup with Hotch before us? Or Rossi?"

"Yeah, actually." Her admittance is followed by a stunned silence, as Garcia stares wordlessly back at her and JJ glances at Garcia as if to ask which man Emily had meant. She doesn't have to stay confused for long, as Emily continues: "Dave and I have been doing quick coffee runs lately, and among all other topics, yes, we did discuss the breakup."

"You told David Rossi about your breakup before you told me?" Garcia's voice is slightly too loud, and it scares Henry. "Is nothing sacred anymore?!"

"He asked", Emily shrugs, trying to laugh the whole thing off. It isn't exactly true, though. He'd simply known, and told her of his suspicion. Her demeanour shifts slightly, as she remembers the day they talked about it. "He was there for me when Matthew died, and… it came up. I wasn't exactly intending to tell him about it, but I didn't have to, either. He guessed it."

"When Matthew died… That sneaky Italian bastard!" Garcia whisper-screams now to avoid startling Henry again. "That's what he used the spare key for!"

"The spare what now?" This plot twist piques JJ's interest. She settles the calm-again baby into the stroller and gives the conversation her full interest.

"Rossi asked for my spare key to Em's place on the night of the crazy revenge exorcist's deportation. Said he wanted to make sure she'd be okay."

"And what happened?"

"It's kind of funny", Emily stifles a chuckle. "I almost shot him."

"WHAT?"

"He was in my kitchen when I got home. I was so spooked I pointed my gun at what I thought to be an intruder. He'd used PG's key to get in – with a pizza."

"Alright", JJ is thoroughly amused by the mental image of Emily threatening Dave with her gun. "But how did the conversation go from pizza or Matthew to Cooper?"

"He got you pizza?" Garcia's focusing on the most important parts of the story, as always. Emily ignores her and answers JJ's actually relevant question.

"We didn't really talk about Matthew, because we'd spent the last couple days talking about nothing but. I suppose he just realised there was something else weighing on me as well." She doesn't exactly want to explain how she cried that night, or the comment Rossi made about saying of note. "He made sure I ate and showered, he offered me comfort, we watched a movie and he insisted on staying the night." JJ and Garcia exchange a look that speaks volumes about what exactly they think Emily means bystaying the nightor what kind of comfort he might have offered her. She catches their exchange and slaps a hand over her mouth. "Oh god, no, not like that! He slept on mycouch!" This clarification seems to calm her friends down, and the conversation starts to shift back to the breakup, because now PG wants the full scoop and whole story – 'everything you said to Rossi and more'. She gives them everything they want and reflects on her thoughts and feelings and maybe it is true what Penelope said. Maybe she can't have this exact conversation witha boy, and that's what PG and JJ are there for. But Dave's pretty damn close to how safe and happy these women are making her feel right now. She laughs and cries with them and tells them everything. Everything except how many times his face crosses her mind during this conversation, how many times she has to bite the inside of her lip to prevent herself from bringing him up again. She neglects to mention the fact that Dave didn't sleep alone on her couch that night, nor the embrace they woke up in. No, that she keeps to herself. Then again, she also doesn't tell them about what she thought she'd heard him whisper to her when they were both half asleep. She's gonna make sense of that herself first.