Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It never got any easier, seeing what people could do to each other. But laying here, in a bit of a run down hotel in the middle of nowhere, Oregon, it really did get easier.

“And how he just stumbled into your arms!” JJ wheezed, laughing uncontrollably. They were slumped on the double bed. The room was quite old fashioned, like the last time anybody restyled it, was in the 80s. But it was clean, which was the most important thing to Emily anyway. They flew in two days ago, to assist in a murder investigation in the tiny town. The case wasn’t too complicated; it was more that the town hadn’t had the manpower to deal with something this big. It had been a bit of a no brainer and JJ dealt with it by laughing it all off. They were lying side to side, staring up at the ceiling. Emily admired JJ’s way of dealing with things. “Oh God, Em, the look on his face!” Tears were running down the blondes face as the bed shook with laughter. There was nothing that was really that funny about the entire case, but Emily found herself laughing along. She enjoyed how JJ’s body curled on the bed, turning towards her. Emily pushed herself up onto her elbow, watching her colleague deal with her aching belly. JJ looked up to her with wet cheeks, still giggling. “It was a good day after all, wasn’t it?” She beamed up at the brunette. Emily nodded with a smile on her face. JJ’s laughter died down slowly, leaving a grin on her face, as she investigated the other agents face. “You wanna watch some TV before we go to sleep?” She asked while pushing herself up to a sitting position. Emily slowly mirrored her.

“Yeah, sure. You pick something. I think I’m gonna take a shower…” She said, while getting up from the bed. She walked over to her ready-bag, to dig out her PJs and a tiny bottle of shampoo.

“I’ll get us set up!” JJ replied happily. Even before Emily reached the bathroom she heard JJ’s cell phone chime. She slowly proceeded to wash the days’ events off.

As she turned off the shower she heard JJ huff in annoyance through the thin hotel walls. Emily decided to prolong her bathroom time just a little bit, to give the blonde some privacy. As she came out, releasing some of the left over steam into the hotel room, JJ was lying down on the bed, on arm over her eyes.

“You okay?” Emily asked, cautiously walking over to her bag, to put the shampoo bottle away. JJ huffed again.

“Yeah, just annoyed.” She pouted a little, while grabbing the remote off the wobbly nightstand. Emily took it as a sign, she was welcomed into whatever was bothering the other woman and flopped down onto the bed. JJ grumpily turned on the TV, flipping through the channels, without settling on something.

“Jayje…?” Emily hesitated a second, before placing her hand on the one holding the remote. JJ shot her a tiny smile.

“It’s really okay. I was gonna go shopping with Garcia on our day off tomorrow and Will would take Henry.” She dramatically sighed. “But he got called in. So no shoe shopping for me.” A big pout formed, while she started flipping the channels again. “I was so looking forward to that.”

“Maybe Henry will like shoe shopping...” The brunette tried. JJ barked out the laugh.

“He is 4, Em. I can’t even get him to sit still during breakfast.” She said, with a smile on her face. “It’s okay though. I guess I like Henry better than shoe shopping.” JJ shrugged. Emily leaned back a bit, watching the channels fly by, as the petite blonde was obviously still in thought. Emily bit her lip. She felt a bit uneasy; on the one hand she wanted to help JJ. The price for helping her might mean she would be in a little over her head. She took a deep breath.

“If you want, I could take him for a few hours…” She almost whispered. JJ’s head shot up, her mouth slightly open.

“What?” She gasped. Emily slowly shrugged.

“I could. I’m not that bad with kids.” Her voice was soft. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was offering or if the offer was even a smart idea, but it was too late to back out now. JJ’s eyes searched her face for signs of a lie. She opened her mouth once, just to close it again. The silence stretched on for a few long moments. “It’s okay if you don’t trust me with him.” Emily quickly blurted out, while looking down to her hands. The silence stung a bit. Out of the corner of her eye she saw JJ’s hand sneak towards her clenching ones.

“I trust you, Em.” Jennifer whispered. “You just surprised me, that’s all. And he is quite a hand full…”

“I can keep him alive for a few hours. A little sunlight, a few snacks… how hard can it be?” Emily quickly masked her insecurity. JJ smiled softly, obviously recognizing what she was doing. Jennifer looked at her quietly, taking her time for the response.

“Okay.” JJ simply said. Emily’s head shot up.

“Okay?” She echoed in disbelieve. The blonde next to her laughed.

“Yes. Thank you.” It was so, so simple, but it made Emily’s chest swell with pride for some reason.

“You’re welcome. You deserve to go shoeing, you work hard.” Em babbled, not knowing exactly what to say. She was a little overwhelmed by the blondes trust. JJ smiled again, before taking a breath and deliberately breaking to moment.

“That’s settled then, now let’s get some sleep.” Emily pulled the blanket up to her neck, settling into the bed next to JJ.  She watched her turn off the TV with a smile and turn off the light. It was silent for a while as Emily watched the shadows on the ceiling move.

“Jayje… he doesn’t wear diapers anymore, right?” JJ let out a loud and honest laugh.

Emily parked her car in front of the Jareau condo. What the hell had she gotten herself into? She wasn’t half bad with children, really. But, babysitting was something different. She had watched Declan for days, but she was never completely alone. She had gotten children out of unspeakable situations, but she was never actually responsible for entertaining them. She felt ridiculously nervous. A feeling Emily was not that accustomed to. It threw her more than she cared to admit. She took one deep breath and pushed the feeling down. It was just a few hours, what could go wrong? She hopped out of her car, grabbing her bag in the process and jogged up to the door. With one more deep calming breath and rang the doorbell. She heard a muffled ‘coming’ from the other side of the wood.

“Hey you!” Jennifer excitedly exclaimed, while ripping the door open.

“Hey!” Emily smiled as JJ ushered her inside. The FBI agent let her eyes wander over the blonde for a second. JJ looked so different from her normal work attire. Emily had to admit that the loose dark blue dress looked absolutely amazing on her. 

“Henry is already very excited. Living room is through here.” She said, guiding Emily further into her house. “Henry, Emily is here!” His mother said in a voice, certainly meant to hype the boy up. His head perked up from behind the couch.

“Emimi?” He asked with a big smile, brushing his long blond hair out of his face clumsily. Emily couldn’t help the smile, creeping onto her face.

“Hey Henry.” She greeted him. Jen extended her hand towards her son. The little blonde ran over to her, leaning his back against his moms legs. He grinned up, looking at Emily.

“Emily is gonna stay with you for a bit, while mommy goes out. Remember?” JJ said in a gentle tone, Emily guessed the gentleness in her voice was reserved for Henry only. Henry nodded viciously at his moms’ statement. “Are you gonna be good and listen to Emily?” Again a certain nod. JJ smiled and touched his shoulders in a loving gesture. Henry took this as his cue to take off again. “Okay Em,” The blonde took Emily by her elbow and led her into the kitchen. “We have snacks over here. And when he gets thirsty, it’s either water or apple juice. Don’t let him talk you into ice tea! He’ll ask you to take him to the bathroom if he has to, be he’s good all by himself in there. Oh and I told him it’s okay to watch a movie. Just so you know.” It came out like it was rehearsed. Emily thought it must be what she said to every babysitter that walked through the door.

“Action movie and apple martinis. Got it.” She nodded with a cheeky grin. JJ rolled her eyes at her.

“Are you still sure about this, Em?” She questioned softly. Emily nodded immediately.

“Yeah, go have fun. I got this.” She wasn’t as sure about it as she let on, but it was way too late now, so nothing left to do but show the kid a good time.

“Okay Henry, give mommy a kiss!” JJ yelled out to Henry, while passing Emily to the living room again. The swift explanation made Emily feel a little uneasy. She wasn’t sure why. It felt weird to play babysitter to JJ’s kid.

Before she knew it, Henry had kissed his mom goodbye and JJ had her jacket on. “Call me if there is anything you need to know or if anything happens. Or if-“ Emily cut her off by holding her hands up.

“It’s gonna be fine. Really.” JJ nodded, but still looked a tiny bit uneasy.

“Okay. I’ll be back latest in 3 hours.” She said, car keys already in hand. “Thanks again, Em!” JJ happily said, while closing the door behind her. Emily slowly turned around to the little boy peaking around the couch.

“Okay Henry, it’s just us now.” She smiled, walking over to him. A big toothy smile on the boys face didn’t give away any discomfort about his mom leaving. That reassured Emily immensely. “What are you playing?” She asked as she reached the couch and peak over it. There was a plastic box throws over behind it, with a ridiculous amount of plastic animals spilling out onto the play mat Henry was sitting on.

“Zoo!” He exclaimed excitedly. “Play with me?”

“Absolutely!’

Chapter Text

It turned out in Henry’s zoo any kind of animals could live. Emily ended up chasing after the kid and a plastic tiger around the living room with her dinosaur. He crawled over the couch and under table, all while giggling hysterically. “Rawwwwrrrr, Emimi!” He yelled, throwing himself towards her. “Imma dinosaur!” She let him fall onto her as she crouched down and let herself roll onto her back. He grabbed at her shirt and grinned widely. “Raaaaaaawwwwwrrrr!” He clawed his hand at her as she screamed in utter defeat. He giggled on and crawled down again, hitting her in de stomach with his knees by accident. “Come catch me!” She rolled over, looking at where he ran. This was turning out to be way more fun than she had anticipated.

They spend about one and a half hours actively running around the house playing dinosaurs, as well as running around in the tiny garden. There they had to battle a pond of alligators and herd of elephants. Which was absolutely nothing compared to how Emily had battled Henry into his jacket and shoes before going outside.

“Hey Henry, wanna battle back across the alligator pond again to go grab a snack?” He nodded enthusiastically. As he ran back into the house, he threw his jacket on the floor, sitting down next to it to get his shoes off.

“Emimi help!” It still all felt a little alien to her. This little boy didn’t have any hesitation relaying on her. Before she knew it, she softly stroked his hair out of his face. He was obviously used to his mom doing the exact same thing, because there was absolutely no reaction to the gesture as he hopped over to the snack closet. She really did like this little guy.

“Okay buddy, what would you like? We have crackers, fruits, oeeeee oreo’s!” He held his arms up towards her so she could pick him up. “You wanna take a look for yourself?” He nodded. She picked him up a little awkwardly, shifting him on her hip out of pure instinct. She watched his face scrunch into a deep frown. It felt strangely intimate to have a little human so close. It amazed her, that he had no boundaries at all. “Crackers.” Came the confident reply.

“Alright.” She agreed, setting him down on the floor again. To her surprise, he didn’t move away, but leaned into her legs. He watched closely as she put some crackers into a bowl. “Would you like to share an apple with me?” He wrapped his hands around one of her legs and shrugged. She took that as a yes and cut an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter.

“Can we sit on the floor?” He whispered, like it was a secret.

“Yes.” A big smile formed on his face as he sat down where they were standing, his back again the kitchen closets. She handed him his crackers and sat down next to him. He stretched his legs out as far as he could.

“Big legs!” He commented, poking her in the leg. She looked at her legs, which almost reached the kitchen isle across. She pulled them into herself and sat crossed-legged. Now they almost reached about the same spot. “Emimi catch bad guys, like mommy?” He asked, enthusiastically chewing his animal crackers. She nodded.

“With mama. We do it together.” Henry nodded approvingly. “You wanna toast?” She got a confused look this time. She poked his cracker with her apple. “Cheers!” He giggled again, and poked back.

“Cheers!” Emily had to smile at the lost of volume control, when he got excited about something. “I like that!” He leaned over onto her knee, setting his elbows on her while he chewed. “Mommy said movie.” He grinned cheekily. Emily deducted that he probably had little screen time, so this must be something special.

“We can watch a movie.” She immediately gave in. “After the crackers.” She quickly added as she saw him get up.

As JJ got home, Emily was lying on her back on the couch with a napping Henry on her stomach. The TV was on low volume, showing ‘Tangled’. The floor was littered with plastic animal toys. Henrys tumbler was on the table with half of the juice still in it.

“Hey.” Emily whispered, resting her hands on Henrys back. “I think I wore him out.” JJ smiled, leaning against the doorpost. She slowly took in the view in front of her. She rarely got to see the brunette without her walls up and now she was flopped down onto her couch in green socks and a tousled sweater, holding her son protectively.

“I can see that.” Jen laughed. “What did you do?” She carefully sat next do them on the couch, her hips poking into Emily’s in the narrow space. The brunette tried to sit up a bit, giving JJ a little more room. As Henry stirred in his sleep, she stilled her movements and just gave in.

“Uh, we played zoo and I got saved from an alligator pond. We had snacks and I tried to please with a movie, but got shot down with snoring.” JJ couldn’t help but laugh out loud this time.

“Oh Em…” She slowly put a hand on Emily’s, slowly stroking her hands as well as Henry’s back.  “Thank you so much.” Her face was so soft, Emily tried to swallow the sudden lump in her throat.

“I had fun. How were things with Garcia?” She asked, starting to feel a little exposed.

“I bought 3 pairs of shoes and had way too much coffee.” The blonde slowly stood up. “Let me take him from you, I’ll put him in his bed.” Emily started to protest.

“Ah don’t wake him up, look at him.” JJ grinned at her.

“I got this.” Jennifer reached underneath her son, hands brushing Emily’s abdomen, scoping her son up in her arms. He stirred again, but settled immediately as his mother kissed his hair. He wrapped his little arms around her necks and let himself be carried up the stairs.

Emily cleared her throat and watched them disappear upstairs. She took the plastic box and started cleaning up the toys on the floor.

JJ came back downstairs as Emily put back up Henry’s jacket, which was still on the kitchen floor, grabbing her shoes that were next to the coat rack. “Hey, you leaving?” She asked, jumping the last step of the stairs.

“Oh… I thought you’d want me out of your hair.” Emily felt so out of place, now Henry was not there as a barrier between her and JJ.

“No Em, please, let’s have a cup of coffee before you go.” The brunette hesitated for a moment, put her shoe down anyway.

They had their coffee together and Emily got out of there as fast as she could. Somehow it was making her uneasy to be there. She knew she had some feelings for JJ that couldn’t be filed under ‘work’, but they were pushed down as far as they could be, filed next to ‘mother’ and ‘Lauren Reynolds’. She fixed herself a quick dinner with a generous glass of red wine. Sometimes she wished she were more social, because this was one of these rare times she would really like to talk to someone. She picked up her phone, scrolling through her contacts, landing on Penelope. She knew the bubbly analyst would drop everything to help her if she asked. Emily bit her lip, lifting her finger; it hovered over the green phone symbol. The second she gave into pressing the button her phone rang. Emily yelped in surprise. She dropped her phone onto herself, almost spilling the wine from the glass she was holding. “Shit!” She cursed, grabbing the offensive devise. She gasped lightly as she saw JJ’s name dancing across the screen. “Prentiss.” Emily answered, with more force than necessary.

“Wow hey special agent.” JJ said, noticeably smiling. “I have someone here that wants to talk to you. Is that okay?” She was slightly overwhelmed.

“Uh… yeah, yeah.” It came out even less convincing as she had planned, but either JJ ignored it, or she really didn’t hear it.

“Emimi?” The chirpy voice almost yelled out.

“Hey Henry!” Emily couldn’t help but smile at the boy. It was only three hours she had watched the kid. She barely knew him at all. And still she really took a liking to him.

“Emimi! You were gone!” It was just an observation, no judgment in his voice. The brunette agent really did find that comforting.

“Yeah, I had to go home.” She kept the explanation short. ‘I felt so insecure all of a sudden’ wouldn’t really do him any good.

“Okay! Can you come play again soon?” He asked, as she heard the blonde next to him snicker.

“I would absolutely love that, Henry.” She smiled into the phone.

“Okay! Sleep well, Emimi!” He yelled again, and obviously ran off before she could reply. JJ took the phone from him again.

“You made quite the impression on him, Em.” The blonde laughed.

“I uhm….” She didn’t know what to say.

“Thanks again, I’m gonna put this little whirl wind to bed now. But please let me buy you dinner some time soon, just to say thank you.” Jennifer basically ordered.

“Uh. Yeah. Well you don’t… I mean.” Okay this was not going the way she planned.

“Good! Sleep well, Em!” And with that she was gone and just like her son, she didn’t wait for a reply. Emily gripped onto her glass a bit tighter. What had she gotten herself into?

Chapter Text

They were all getting off the jet, all slightly sleepy after a long flight and an even longer case. Emily was already thinking of her bed with fondness. She was leaning into Morgan, contemplating if she was going to make it home, or if she would fall asleep behind the steering wheel, when JJ popped up next to her.

“Hey Em, I still own you dinner.” The blonde FBI agent seemed more awake than Emily had felt in weeks. “I was thinking maybe we could make it a park date.” Emily did her best not to choke on the word ‘date’. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Morgan snicker. “I’m picking up Henry now and we were thinking of a day in the park tomorrow. I would pack food and we could watch Henry run around for a few hours. Nothing too fancy, but if you’d like to come…” Oh. JJ was waiting for an answer. How was she going to het out of this one? And to her surprise she didn’t really want to get out of it. It scared her, but the prospect of seeing the little boy again had her a little excited.

“I… I think I’d love to.” She said not only surprising Morgan and JJ, but also herself.

“Good. I’ll text you where we’re going.” JJ recovered fast and walked past her to join Hotch again, picking up a conversation about their paperwork.

“What was that about, Prentiss?” Morgan bumped her shoulder. She shrugged, not wanting to answer. “A romantic picnic with our media liaison?” She rolled her eyes, trying to get away from him.

“It’s a sandwich in the park with her son.” Emily corrected, as she walked faster. Derek caught up with her in mere seconds.

“I didn’t hear her asking me.” The last word he singsong-ed. He grinned at her teasingly, but let her escape after that. She felt very uneasy, hoisting her bag higher up her shoulder unnecessarily. She took a moment to collect herself and followed the rest of the team.

Emily stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself. She had felt so exposed, ever since she watched Henry. That wasn’t like her at all. She was used to keeping her walls up. She was used to being perfect ever since she was a child. She maneuvered galas and charity auctions like a pro. How could one little boy and his mom make her feel so unguarded? She looked at her comfortable jeans and her long sleeved red shirt. Her hair was loose and a little curlier as usual. She was showing a bit more cleavage as she normally would for work.

She felt a bit more confident after examining her look with care. Emily took a deep breath. She liked JJ a lot, but this was just a play date with her son. There had always been this little bit more between them than a friendship. The raven-haired woman didn’t have many close girlfriends, but she felt a lot different with Jennifer Jareau as she did with Penelope Garcia.

There was always a lingering tension with JJ. There was a time she almost made a move, but then there was Will. And she knew JJ and Will were amazing as long as they lasted. They were still amazing now, just not as a couple anymore, but as parents and friends. Emily let out a frustrated huff. She didn’t make a move back then, and now there was even more on the line. She rolled her neck and squared her shoulders. Showtime.

Emily parked her car in the parking lot next to the park. She had picked up a big bag of cheetos and a tinier package of animal crackers along with two packages of grape juice and a package of apple juice. She scanned the lot for JJ’s car as she crossed towards the green on the other side. She smiled as she spotted the car she was looking for. The sun was high, it was almost noon and she could smell the spring in the air. The blondes had really picked an amazing day. She adjusted her fancy sunglasses again as she entered the park. She almost felt like herself again as she softly hummed and put an extra sway in her step. Emily spotted the blondes on a plaid blanket, surrounded by the plastic animals Henry seemed to love. The tiny blonde spotted her first. He seemed to have been checking the entrance to the park for her arrival. He hopped up on his feet, wobbly running towards her. JJ flipped her hair around, so she could keep an eye on Henry stumbling towards her colleague.

“EMIMI!” He screamed in delighted. She took a short run towards him and dropped to her knees to give him a hug.

“Hey buddy!” Emily smiled and stroked his long blonde locks out of his face.

“Come play with me!” Henry yelled again, abandoning his volume control out of enthusiasm. She barked out a laugh, taking his little hand in hers. She took him safely back to the blanket.

“Hey Em.” JJ greeted her with a warm smile.

“Hey Jayje.” Emily softly touched her arm before she sat down next to her. Henry flopped down into Emily’s lap, the second she sat down. “Ufff buddy!” She laughed, loosely looping her arms around him, not quite comfortable with the touch yet. “I brought snacks.” She said handing her bag with the cheetos poking out to JJ. The blondes face lit up.

“OH! So good!” JJ squealed, hugging the cheetos to her. Henry took to pushing a plastic cow into Emily’s hand. “Grape juice?” The blonde asked with a frown.

“Well I thought it was too early for wine. This was the closest to the real thing.” JJ laughed, putting her hand on Emily’s knee.

“That is so sweet.” Emily watched the hand rub circles on her knee. She slowly felt better and better about this picnic. The brunette smiled at JJ and shifted her attention to Henry again. She babbled with him about his animals and she let him play on her legs and the surrounding blanket. Emily looked at JJ a couple of times for reassurance. The blonde did nothing to intervene between the two, but smiled encouragingly.

“Mommy, watch me run!” Henry suddenly exclaimed and hopped up. He ran two circles around them before sitting down in the grass next to the blanket. JJ kept a close eye on him, while smiling at Emily again.

“You’re very good with him.” She softly encouraged Emily. The brunette shrugged. She let her eyes wander back to the boy.

“I don’t know what I’m doing to be honest, Jayje.” She watched the blonde laugh.

“I never know. But he’s still alive and he seems happy. I constantly worry about him, but I guess that’s what I’m supposed to do.” Jen smiled a watery smile. “Hey… I’m happy you’re here.” Emily watched her touch her arm again. “Ever since Will and I split up, I feel really privileged when I can share moment with Henry with someone.” She nervously looked at her hands. “Sorry, that’s weird and uncalled for.” Emily slowly reached over and took her hand.

“No. It’s understandable.” She held on. “I am kind of overwhelmed with how much I like him.” JJ smiled a huge proud smile. She squeezed Emily’s hand.

“He is pretty great.” The brunette slowly pulled her hand back. “I know you’re a little uncomfortable with him, but just follow your instinct. I’ll tell you when something is not working.” Her voice was soft. Emily looked at the kid again. What JJ was saying was more than nice; it was generous. “He likes to hug some people. He likes to be close to you.” JJ softly continued. “It’s alright.” Emily felt her eyes get a bit misty.

“Okay.” She whispered softly. JJ grabbed her bag of cheetos, breaking the moment. She crunched away happily after noisily opening the bag.

“Uh! So good!” She moaned. Emily laughed wholeheartedly. She felt happy.

Chapter Text

Emily’s phone rang. She hadn’t even fully made it to the garage of the FBI building. Derek just drove of with a wave. They had just finished after a day at the office. She loved her job, but didn’t really feel like going back in so soon. JJ’s name popped up on her display. “Hey Jayje, want me to come back up?”

“Oh you’re still here? Thank god, I need a favor!” The blonde seemed slightly desperate.

“You name it.” It was out before she could think about it.

“I just got a call and there is a department that needs a consult. I won’t be out of here for an hour or 2. And I have to pick up Henry.” The blonde let out an annoyed huff.

“I can pick up Henry. Would that help?” Emily was already on her way back up.

“Very much so.”

“I’m back in the elevator.”

About 30 seconds later JJ put her car keys and her house keys in Emily’s hand. JJ pressed that she had no time to explain how to install the car seat in Emily’s car, so Emily wordlessly accepted the deal.

So she took JJ’s car to the daycare she texted her the address to. Henry seemed to be the last kid to be picked up. Emily took a short moment to watch him. He sat at a little table, his long blond hair falling over his face, his tongue between his lips in concentration. It took a few moments before her noticed her in the doorway.

“Hi Emimi!” He waved at her, looking up from his coloring project.

“Hey buddy!” He was less enthusiastic than normal. “Are you tired, Henry?” She asked softly, sitting down next to him at the tiny table. He shook his head no, but leaned into her immediately. She took a breath and remembered what JJ said about following her instincts. She slowly put her hands under his armpits and lifted him onto her lap. He wrapped his little arms around her neck, snuggling his face into her shoulder. She hugged him to her, rubbing his back. “It’s really nice to see you, buddy. You wanna go home?” He nodded sleepily against her shoulder. She awkwardly got up, shifting him to her hip.

There was a younger blonde woman watching them from the doorway. “Well Ms. Jareau didn’t have to call in. This pick-up is all cleared, by Henry.” The blonde woman laughed with hearty smile. Emily took a good look at her, it took her about 2 seconds to determent she must be the preschool teacher.

“Uh, hi, I’m Emily Prentiss. I’m a friend of Jennifer’s. This is my first preschool pick-up.” The other woman smiled a radiant smile.

“Well Henry seems to be happy about that. Let me help you get his things.” The teacher helped Em get his little backpack and jacket; all while Henry clung to her like a koala.

She managed to get everything, including the kid, wrestled into the car. She had planned to get him an ice cream on the way home, but he had already fallen asleep before she put the car into drive.

Emily carried him into the house. She wrestled with the door and the child in her arms, maneuvered through the hallway and the living room to put him down onto the couch. She pulled a blanket that was on the back of the couch over him. She hesitated a moment, but one look at the clock told her the boy would probably be hungry when he woke up. Emily wandered into the kitchen, with the little backpack in her hands. She took out the breadbox and put it in the dishwasher.

As she was stirring the Kraft Mac and Cheese, she felt foreign to herself. She was the least domestic person she knew and here she was, cooking, playing and cleaning.

Emily sat on the couch crossed legged, with Henry on her lap. They were reading book after book because ‘Emimi is a good reader’. Henry hadn’t even thought about asking for screen time. Emily felt like he was giving her the biggest compliment with that.

There was a knock on the door. Henry looked up at her questioning. “I think it might be mommy.” She smiled at him as he hastily got up. She walked to the door with him, helping him open it. An obviously tired Jennifer Jareau was leaning against the doorframe.

“Hi mommy!” Henry chirped, leaning back against Emily’s legs with a big smile.

“Hey baby!” Emily noticed how JJ never seemed too tired to be attentive to Henry. He pushed off Emily to hug and kiss his mom. “Oh you always make me feel so good.” She cooed, giving him a big sloppy kiss on his cheek. He giggled and let her come in the house. Emily slowly pulled back to give them some room, but Henry had darted back into the living room. JJ gave her a tired smile. “Well he seems happy!” Emily smiled proudly.

“Emimi! The book not done!” Henry chirped from the couch. Emily grinned.

“Give me a minute, buddy!” She turned back to JJ. “How was your consult?” She asked, helping her out of her jacket.

“A whole new dimension of gruesome!” JJ huffed with a thankful smile. “I would have rather been here with you guys. Did everything go well?” She asked, following Emily into the living room again.

“I think so. Some of us had a nap, I fed him and we read a few books. We saved you dinner.” Em summarized. She watched JJ give her a watery smile.

“Really?” The brunette looked at her in slight panic, she asked herself where she went wrong. “Thank you so much, Em.” Oh, oh! Good! She did well. She felt a surge of pride and relief cross through her body.

“You sit with Henry, I’ll warm it up.” Emily pulled back into the kitchen and listened to Henry telling his mother everything about his day. She waited for the microwave to ping as she tried to analyze how she was feeling. She absolutely loved today. It scared her less then she thought. She decided to just enjoy it. “Jayje, do you want a glass of water?” She called out from where she was standing.

“I’d take a glass of wine, if you drink with me!” JJ called back. Emily popped her head around the door.

“I still have to drive.” She objected, with a cheeky smile. JJ shrugged.

“Stay. We’ll have a girls night.” JJ didn’t miss a beat. Emily blinked twice and just walked back into the kitchen.

“Red?” She yelled back.

“Okay!”

They took Henry to bed and read him a story together. Emily read the story and JJ did the voices. Emily thought she probably giggled as much as Henry did. It felt light and easy.

JJ carried the baby monitor with her to the couch as she plopped down. Emily followed her, feeling more content as she had in weeks. Maybe she was lonelier than she thought. She grabbed her glass of wine and settled in a corner of the couch, watching JJ pull a blanket onto her lap. She sipped her wine and decided just to watch the blonde for now. “What?” She questioned with a half smile. Emily shrugged.

“I’m just reflecting. It was a really nice day.” She smiled into her wine glass.

“Em, the day sucked. But you might have had a good time with Henry.” The brunette laughed. 

“I guess. I’m having a good time now too.” She said with a tiny smile. JJ made a little noise, so Emily knew she heard her, but didn’t react further. “Do you miss him?” She asked quietly. Jen scrunched her eyebrows in question. “Will.” She whispered. JJ picked an invisible lint off the blanket, as she contemplated her answer.

“Every day.” She admitted. Emily felt her heart sink a little. She made a mental note to analyze that feeling later. “But not in the way I should miss a husband.” She sighed. “I miss hanging out, playing with Henry as a family. I miss having someone to come home to. I miss being supported or encouraged. But I don’t miss his kisses or lying next to him in the bed. I don’t miss… being his wife, I guess. I miss being his friend.” She confessed to her glass of wine. Her eyes slowly reached up for Emily’s. “Does that make sense?” The older agent nodded after giving it a careful thought. “I miss having someone to share everything with. I feel… lonely, I think.” She laughed at herself. “God that sounds pathetic.”

“Not at all.” Emily shifted a little closer to her friend. “I never really had that and I sometimes feel like I miss it.” She admitted softly. “It sounds nice.” JJ nodded, extending her hand toward her.

“I almost cried when you made me dinner tonight.” She admitted.

“I felt moved when I put Henry’s lunch box into the dishwasher.” Emily offered. JJ giggled at that, not necessarily judging, but amused by the normally stoic brunette admitting something like that. Emily grinned and offered her glass for JJ to toast with her. “Let’s drink to loneliness.” JJ’s face scrunched up.

“Let’s drink to the opposite of that tonight.” She offered. Emily smiled happily and nodded, clinking her glass against JJ’s.

Chapter Text

They ended up watching a movie, tired of the serious conversation after a day like that. JJ slowly inched closer to Emily. The brunette watched her out of the corner of her eye. She felt like she was in some kind of safe bubble. It felt a bit unreal, like she was watching a movie of someone else’s life. It was warm and relaxed. Maybe it was the wine, after already being so tired, but she silently stretched out her arm towards the blonde, so she could snuggle into her. She knew it was a little uncharacteristic, but it still felt nice to hold another person close. No, it felt nice to hold JJ close. The blonde snuggled into her and carefully wrapped her arms around Emily’s waist.

“Is this okay?” JJ whispered. The brunette nodded, covering the blonde’s arm with her free one. Her fingers wrapped around JJ’s elbow, as she held her close. Emily sneaked a look down. The smaller blonde fit nicely in the crook of her arms. She liked the warmth of the body next to her. The flowery smell of the JJ’s shampoo flooded her senses. She closed her eyes for a moment. There was a desire to take it all in, because all of it felt so utterly surrealistic.

“This is a really really bad movie.” JJ whispered. Emily looked down and saw her eyelids droop.

“Yeah.” She smiled, stroking the blonde’s hair back carefully. She not so much saw, as felt her breathes even out. She turned her attention back towards the TV. JJ was right… this movie was so bad.

Emily felt something move against her. Uh, why? She was so comfortable, so warm. She let out an unhappy grunt.

“Em?” A hand shook her shoulder. She cuddled further into the softness. “Emmy?” She blinked once, as a blurry JJ came into view. “Come on, Emmy. Let’s get to bed.” JJ tugged her hand and pulled her up from the couch carefully. She made an unhappy noise as she landed on her feet.

“Jen?” Emily questioned as she felt an arm sneak around her waist.

“Ssssst. Come on.” She let herself be taken up the stairs as the baby monitor in JJ’s hand made a noise. In her sleep drunk state she couldn’t quite place it. It must have shown on her face, because the hand on her back rubbed a soothing circle. “It’s okay. I got it.” She slumped against JJ and just let the woman take her to her bedroom. She sat her down on the bedside and handed her a shirt. Emily looked at her, eyes still half closed. “Put that on and get under the covers.” If she had been more alert, she would have detected the hint of amusement. The brunette nodded and watched JJ leave for Henry’s room. She took off her clothes and left them in a pile next to the bed before she snuggled in. Oh, so nice. It was soft and clean and it smelt flowery like JJ.

She must have fallen asleep again right after she got into the bed, so she didn’t know how much time had passed as the bed dipped again. She blinked and saw JJ get in on the other side. Emily slid over towards her immediately, reaching for the blonde. She saw JJ smile in the dark and felt her crawl into her waiting arms. Emily rubbed her eyes as she looked up to the other woman. JJ had popped herself up onto her elbow and was watching Emily snuggle into her pillow. Their bodies slid together, legs now bare. Emily registered it as a pleasant feeling. She rubbed JJ’s back, trying to pull her down towards her. JJ resisted and slowly ran her fingers through Emily’s hair, pushing it out of her face. She blinked lazily and between blinks it seemed JJ was getting a little closer. She watched the blonde dip down. Emily’s fingers dug into JJ’s back a little harder, keeping her close. Their noses touched. Emily’s sleepy haze seemed to clear up instantly. She was enveloped in a bubble of warmth and the sweet flowery scented shampoo and washing detergent. Emily arched her back up slightly, trying to get more of the feeling. She felt JJ’s breath on her lips. The brunette let out a tiny whine. Finally their lips brushed in a lazy kiss.

JJ’s hands sneaked into the raven hair spread out on her pillow. Emily’s hands ran up JJ’s back, towards her shoulders. Their lips moved unhurried against each other. The blonde ran her hand down to Emily’s jaw, pulling her closer, not wanting this feeling to end. JJ let out a quiet moan against the other woman’s lips. Emily breathed out, placing lingering kisses to the waiting lips above her. She rubbed her hands slowly down JJ’s back, letting them rest in the dip above her butt. Finally Jennifer’s arm gave in, forcing her to lay down flat against the body beneath her. Emily placed one last kiss at the corner of her mouth, before pulling her into her body softly. JJ complied, shifting so she could place her head on the pillow next to Emily’s. She cuddled into the soft body next to her and closed her eyes again. It didn’t take more then a few minutes to fall asleep, enveloped by warmth.

“Hi!” Was the first thing Emily heard loudly, as she opened her eyes that morning. Henry’s face was all she could see. She jumped, startled by his presence in her bed. Wait. Not her bed. JJ’s bed. Oh… OH. She looked at Henry again and collected herself quickly.

“Morning buddy!” She reached for him. He squealed and let himself be pulled towards the brunette.  She wrapped him up in the blanket with a load ‘roaaaar’. He giggled and wrapped his arms around her neck.

“No play! Mommy says breakfast!” She looked at him from her warm cocoon. Oi. Time to face the music.

“I get breakfast too?” He looked at her confused.

“Yeah. Come on.” Oh apparently everyone that entered this house, overstayed their stay and then slept in their mothers bed, was getting breakfast. It didn’t sound too bad though. Henry got up on the bed and waiting for her to stick her legs out. He lunched himself at her back. She got the hint and pulled him onto her back. It took her about 4 steps to realize that the shirt she was wearing didn’t really cover a lot of butt. And it didn’t help that Henry’s leg were pulling it up even further. But it was too late now. She thanked her lucky stars she’d picked boy shorts somewhere yesterday morning. She carried the babbling little boy down the stairs towards the kitchen.

“Mommy I got Emimi!” She noted that the last ‘mi’ in her name was starting to fade a little, as if he was babbling over it. JJ looked up from her spot at the waffle iron.

“It seems like Emily has gotten you, baby!” She laughed, shaking her hair out of her face. She looked amazing in her sleep shirt, tousled hair and tiny jeans shorts.

“Good morning.” Emily said with a shy smile, parking Henry’s butt on the counter top.

“Morning, Em.” JJ touched her arm for a moment, before concentrating on the waffles again.

“Mom, can I have chocolate sauce?” The tiny boy enthusiastically asked.

“Mmmmm.” The blonde tapped her chin as she pretended to think about it. Emily awkwardly pulled her shirt back down. After the relaxed night they had, she was almost ready to leave her nervous self behind again. But she felt quite exposed, uncertain and pretty much ready to run. “What do you think, Em?” JJ leaned against the counter behind her with a playful smirk.

“About chocolate sauce?” The raven-haired woman choked. She thought she saw a spark in JJ’s eyes at that. “I… I think we could have a little bit. Maybe?” Was that the right answer?

“If Emily says okay, I think it’s okay.” Jennifer laughed. Henry cheered.

“Thank you!” He threw his arms over his head. Emily caught him just in time, before he lost his balance on the counter. She put him down on his two feet. JJ put down 3 plates and forced some fruits on Henry’s plate. She watched the blonde put on the sauce for him, before he emptied the entire bottle on the one waffle.

JJ just put some fruits on her waffle. She unplugged the waffle iron and threw a look at Emily.

“You don’t want a waffle?” She asked, looking at the frozen brunette that stood in the middle of the kitchen.

“Yes… yes I really do.” Emily shot into action and just put some sugar onto her waffle. She felt like she was being a bother if she took anything else. She sat down next to the two blondes at the table. JJ send her a knowing smile and simply got up to pick up the bowl of mixed fruits and put it on the table next to Emily’s plate. Emily nodded, taking the hint and put a few on her waffle. Henry already looked like his waffle had attacked his face and hands, but JJ didn’t seem to worry about it, so neither did Emily.

“Can Emimi take me to school, mommy?” He asked, still chewing on a piece of waffle. JJ wiped one of his hands and looked at the brunette.

“I’m not sure if we have time, baby. Maybe Emily needs to go back to her house before work…” Emily wasn’t sure if she was giving her and out or if she was telling her off.

“I uh… do need to repack my ready bag.” She said quietly.

“I think Emmy would love to do it another day. Is that okay, baby?” JJ asked, putting a big piece of waffle in her mouth. Emily was a bit startled at the nickname, it gave her a little flashback of JJ taking her to bed yesterday night. She focused on her waffle. It seemed like a huge task to eat the damn thing now.

“Okay.” He said, a little unhappy. “Emmy…” It was like he tasted the word in his mouth. He nodded to himself and held his chocolate fingers out to Emily. She smiled and grabbed the napkin JJ used before. She softly cleaned his hands and his mouth before she let him climb in her lap. For a second she wondered if JJ didn’t want her around him anymore after what happened between them yesterday. She let him eat two bites of her waffle and let him run off as JJ excused him from the table.

They cleaned the table in silence after JJ had send Henry up to start getting ready for preschool.

“I can hear you thinking from over here.” JJ smiled, while putting their plates into the dishwasher.

“I...” She couldn’t even finish her sentence before both her and JJ’s phones chimed in tandem in the kitchen and somewhere in the living room. The blonde read over the text.

“Seems like my consult turned into a case. We have to go in.” She summarized for the brunette. “One hour, Em. You gotta run if you want to repack your bag.” Emily nodded quietly. JJ looked up at her. “Are you okay?” The brunette let out a little laugh.

“Yeah, I’m good. Are you?” JJ nodded, looking down at Emily’s legs.

“I’m really good.” She winked. The older FBI agent let out an uncharacteristic giggle. “Now go get dressed. I’ll see you in an hour! Don’t forget to say bye to Henry!”

Emily ran up, got dressed, kissed and hugged Henry goodbye under 5 minutes and almost ran past JJ in the kitchen.

“Stop! I dug your phone out from the couch cushions, woman!” JJ called after her.

“OH! Thank you!” Emily happily took the outstretched phone. JJ made one quick move to grab the other woman by her belt loop and pull her towards her. She gave her quick kiss on her cheek before letting her go.

“Drive like a normal human being, Prentiss!” She called out, while walking away. Emily just stood there with a big smile on her face for a moment before she sprung into action.

Chapter Text

Emily ran into the conference room 2 minutes before their time limit with wet hair, but with a coffee in hand. She looked around the table. “What? I prefer coffee to dry hair!” She shrugged, every bit of her confident self again. Derek chuckled.

“Oh Prentiss…” He leaned back in his chair with a sly grin. “Is this a walk of shame?” She looked around the conference room. Reid was deep into the case file in front of him, but definitely had his ears trained on her answer. Garcia was plainly staring at her with a shit-eating grin. She was leaning back with a fuzzy pink pen in hand. Rossi had stopped writing in his little book and was also staring at her now. Emily shifted her gaze slightly as she saw JJ and Hotch walking towards the door.

“Nope. No walk of shame. Because I don’t feel one ounce of shame.” She said, while flopping down into her chair with a wink at Morgan. Rossi let out a little huff of laughter while Derek muttered a ‘Damn girl’. She grinned at Garcia, who looked like she was about to launch a series of questions. The blonde tech analyst just opened her mouth, when Hotch and JJ reached the door. Thankfully, she opted out of her questioning.

“Good morning.” Hotch greeted while pulling out his chair, as JJ walked around the table to hand out the documents on the case. Emily happily took a sip of her coffee. She glanced at JJ over the rim of her cup. The woman looked put together as ever. Her hair was pulled into a perfect ponytail and looked washed and certainly dryer than Emily’s. She’d managed to do all that and take the kid to school in under an hour, because she still made it in before Emily. Admittedly she lived closer, but she was in awe. As if she could feel her eyes on her, JJ caught her looking. She gave her a half grin before turning around to the monitor.

Emily was standing on the balcony of her hotel room in Miami. A soft breeze tickled her bare legs. She leaned against the reel in her short silk PJ pants and mismatched cotton tank top. It was past midnight, but she couldn’t put down the case file. There must be something she’d missed. There had been a series of young students being killed. They had a profile, but no one that fit that profile. She flopped down onto the sunbed, which took up most of the balcony. It was quite the luxury, having a balcony and a room to herself on a case. Although she contemplated having a shared room with JJ was always nice. Especially now. She was still thinking about that sleepy kiss. It probably meant nothing to the other woman. They had been having kind of an emotional night. She did say she was lonely. Yeah. It was probably just that.

Emily moved over a little, to look for stars in the night sky. She forced her mind back to the case. Fantasizing about JJ was not going to help her right now. She rubbed her hands over her face and decided to just enjoy the cooler air and the balcony for a moment.

The brunette was startled by a knock on the door mere seconds later. She quickly got up, grabbing her gun from the nightstand and snuck a glance through the peephole. Out in the hall was the blonde she was just trying her thoughts to steer away from. She opened the door with a smile. “Hey you.”

“Hey…” JJ presented a bottle of whiskey from behind her back. “I thought you might want to grab a night cap.” Emily stepped aside to let the other woman pass. She let her eyes sweep up naked legs, getting to cotton baby blue shorts and a white cotton t-shirt. Her long blonde hair was flowing down her back in soft curls. “Wait, you have a balcony?” JJ exclaimed, jogging towards the open door. Emily laughed and placed her gun back on the nightstand.

“Yeah…” She followed the blonde outside, grabbing two glasses on her way out. She watched JJ settle on the sunbed with a big smile.

“Oh it’s actually quite nice now. It doesn’t feel like my clothes are glued to my body anymore.” JJ pulled her legs underneath herself to give Emily room to sit down, shoving the case file down. “No more of this for tonight.” Emily handed her the glasses before sitting down next to her.

“Don’t tell me you weren’t thinking about it.” She said, while leaning back into the window behind her. JJ seemed confused for a second. “The case.” Emily cleared up, wondering what JJ had meant.

“Oh, yeah. Of course.” She shrugged, handing her a glass of whiskey. Emily took a grateful sip and let her head fall backward.

“Thanks for the drink.” JJ nodded in acknowledgement, slowly stretching her legs out over Emily’s. She lowered her wrists down to JJ’s legs, leaning them on her with her whiskey still in hand. “I was thinking of sleeping out here tonight… it might clear my head.” JJ took another sip.

“Don’t lie to me, you were never thinking of sleeping.” She teased. Emily rolled her eyes.

“No, but I was thinking of staying out here until the sun comes up.” She looked up to the sky again. JJ followed her eyes up.

“That sounds nice.” She admitted, taking another swing of her drink. Emily closed her eyes, letting street noises and the smells in the wind envelop her. Her nails slowly drew patterns on JJ’s legs in her lap. “Can I stay?” The blonde asked in a whisper.

Emily didn’t open her eyes but nodded nevertheless. She felt JJ pull back her legs and get up. She blinked as she saw her take the case file and her empty glass back inside. As she came back out, she was wrestling the comforter and a pillow through the door opening. Emily chuckled and helped her through. JJ motioned for her to lie down. The brunette complied and let herself be covered by the blanket. She held it open for the younger woman to join her. JJ carefully crawled in next to her, her back to Emily’s chest. She pushed the comforter down a bit so their arms were above it as she settled down completely. They legs intertwined themselves almost naturally. A familiar tingle went through the brunette’s body. JJ let out an annoyed huff and turned her head towards Emily as if she was waiting for something. Emily reacted a moment later, figuring out it was her arms around the blonde that were missing. She slid them around the other woman’s waist, letting a hand rest on her belly. It was a tight fit on the narrow sunbed, but Emily didn’t care one little bit. Cuddling into JJ was apparently her new thing. The blonde took her hand in hers and let out a satisfied hum.

“This is nice.” Jennifer breathed out so quietly, Emily wasn’t sure she heard it right. The older woman softly pressed a kiss to the blonde’s hairline. JJ hummed in pleasure, bending her neck slightly to give Emily more access. She sucked in a sharp breath at the movement, not entirely sure she had interpreted it right. Emily pressed another kiss to the back of her neck, waiting for a reaction. As no negative reaction came, she pressed another one on the tense muscle of her shoulder, and then up to her pulse point. JJ’s fingers squeezed her hand tightly. The brunette buried her nose in the blonde hair next to her on the pillow and smiled contently, ready to settle for the night as she felt JJ turn towards her. She moved carefully to not fall off the narrow bed, but managed to maneuver her petite body belly to belly with Emily’s. Emily felt her ankle hook itself behind her knee, to keep her balance. She looked up at JJ’s face. Her mouth was slightly open and her breath was a little more ragged than usual. She trailed her eyes up to blown pupils. Before she knew what was happening, JJ’s lips were on hers. In a primal reaction Emily grabbed the back of the blondes neck, to hold herself steady and keep the other woman from moving away. JJ moved her lips feverishly against the brunettes. As relaxed as the last kiss was, this one was needy. JJ trailed her hand down Emily’s neck, leaving it in the center of her chest. JJ’s soft lips felt absolutely amazing against hers. Emily let out a ragged breath. The other woman immediately took advantage of that, swiping her tongue questioningly against Emily’s lips. She willingly accepted, kissing her back fiercely. She felt like she was about to explode as JJ invaded all of her senses. All she could taste, smell and feel was Jennifer Jareau.

JJ slowly pulled back, her thumb stroking Emily’s jaw. The brunette leaned her forehead against the blonde’s, trying to regulate her breathing. She watched the other woman grin at that. Emily slowly stroked JJ’s back, settling her hands in the dip of her back again. The brunette let herself be pulled against the body next to her. The blonde carefully pushed Emily onto her back, molding her body into her side. One leg was thrown over Emily’s and an arm draped over her waist. Her nose buried in the crook of her neck. Emily looked up at the stars again, keeping JJ’s body close to hers. The stars looked more beautiful now then they did mere moments ago.

Emily’s eyes shot open at the unwelcome sound. The yell startled her, there was a splash that followed. She couldn’t get her body straight, because there was a weight pushing her down. It took her a few moments to figure out what happened. She was on the balcony and someone had gone for a morning splash in the pool. She looked down at JJ, who was looking up at her sleepily. “Sorry…” She whispered, stroking JJ’s back softly. The blonde rubbed her eyes, trying to make sense of the situation. The sun was already coming down on them. Emily felt sweaty against the blonde and pushed the comforter down to their intertwined legs. JJ put her hand on Emily’s chest as she leaned her chin on it.

“Good morning.” She whispered. Emily hesitantly brushed JJ’s hair out of her face.

“Morning.” She whispered back.

“You look beautiful.” JJ admitted. The brunette instantly blushed. She didn’t quite get how she could say that to her, when her hair was practically glowing in the sunlight and she looked absolutely perfect it made her want to cry. Oh god. There was a feeling in the pit of her stomach, a low fluttering, that made her a little uneasy. She felt nervous and relaxed at the same time. She tried to shut it down immediately, knowing this was not the time or place to analyze this. JJ giggled at her blush. Emily bit her lip, looking up at her. The blonde stretched into her, to give her a slight peck on the lips. “Do you want to get ready and have breakfast together downstairs?” Emily blinked, a little surprised about the tiny kiss. It felt a bit different without wine, whiskey or darkness.

“Hmm, a few more minutes?” She muttered, pulling JJ in to kiss her again. The blonde laughed, kissing her lips, then her nose. Emily grinned cheekily, before sliding her fingers underneath the hem of JJ’s shirt. She slowly caressed her naked back with her fingertips. JJ gave her the few extra moments before she gently pulled away.

“I still have to run across the hallway in my PJs.” She said with a wink, while battling herself free from the comforter. “And I really don’t want to find Hotch there.” Emily laughed, thinking to herself that Derek would be a bigger danger, but who was she to argue. “Coffee in 20 minutes?” JJ asked, walking back into the hotel room.

“I’ll meet you downstairs.” She confirmed, watching her leave.

They only had a few hours of sleep, but Emily felt better than she had the day before. JJ was sipping a cup of coffee, leaning back into her chair, while Emily studied her case file once more. They’d just come off the phone with Henry to say good morning. Emily felt very fortunate to be part of the good morning ritual. He normally told JJ about his dreams or whatever came to mind. She loved listening to him babble.

She looked at JJ over her case file. She had always liked the younger woman, always liked her a bit more than she should have. But she never lingered on that feeling for too long, knowing it couldn’t happen. She reached for her coffee and wondered what if it could happen.

JJ touched her shoulder. “I think I saw waffles. Shall I bring you one?” Her hand rested on the back of her neck. Emily nodded, touching that hand softly.

Chapter Text

The next few days were painfully normal. They went to work, did their paperwork, consulted on a few cases and went back home. JJ had asked Emily to pick up Henry twice during the week. Once she had dropped him off at preschool and once at the police station Will worked at now. She had been very lucky Will was on the phone while she dropped him off, because she felt that could have been super awkward. On top of that she now was the proud owner of a car seat. JJ had smiled a big toothy smile as she told her car switching was no longer necessary.

The situation was slowly driving Emily mad. She didn’t really want to get stuck like this. What if this was all she was ever going to get? Stolen kisses. She didn’t know what it was that she wanted though. The last days every time she looked at JJ, she felt a little lighter. She loved being part of everything she got to do with Henry. She loved that he called her Emmy by now, as his mom did in private. She loved how good they made her feel. She let out a sigh. She needed a friend to make sense of all of this.

She put down her pen on top of the case file she was working on. The day was dragging on with Reid teaching a class and Hotch in court. She could only hope serial killers would pop up somewhere in the country. She hadn’t seen JJ all day, because she had to sit in in a budget meeting and Rossi was tucked away in his office. Derek was sitting next to her looking as miserable as she did. “Hey, I’m gonna check on Garcia…” She said to him casually. He nodded, rubbing his face with his hands.

“I’ll come after you in like 15 minutes. We’ll go get lunch?” She nodded, thankful that he hadn’t come right away. Emily jogged up to the tech goddess’s lair and knocked on the door before opening it.

“Oracle of all things, how may I help you?” The perky blonde greeted her. Emily smiled, how she wished she were like that some days.

“Hey…” She sauntered in, trying to be casual. Garcia turned around with her entire chair, eyeing her up and down.

“Oh mama, step into the doctor’s office.” She said, taking in Emily’s miserable form. The raven-haired woman huffed and flopped down in the office chair, Garcia had pulled out for her. “Tell me what’s wrong.” Emily reached out and took a pen, shaped like a bat from her desk. She shrugged. “Is this a girls night topic?” Emily nodded reluctantly. “Are you gonna keep me guessing or did you come here for my wisdom?” Garcia cocked her head in a light scold. Emily let out a huff and let herself fall back into the chair.

“Okay, okay. I just… argh. It’s not even a problem. I’m just so… ARGH!” Penelope hid a smile behind her unicorn cup, as she watched Emily wag around the bat pen in search of the right words.

“So you met this guy…?” She tried to get her started.

“Well I met this person…” Emily corrected her gently.

“Sorry, you met someone, go on.” The brunette smiled, they had never really talked about it, but she didn’t really care for gender preferences in her dates. She loved that Penelope just carried on, not even settling for a specific gender.

“Yeah… and she’s… oh PG, she’s magnificent. And I have absolutely no idea what to do about it. I turn into a blubbering bag of bones every time she comes near me.” The blonde laughed softly.

“You’re the biggest badass I know, and that includes my chocolate thunder. I don’t think you blabber.” Emily lifted her eyebrow.

“I’ll proof you wrong.” Penelope laughed at that, encouragingly touching her knee.

“You’re cute. Does she like you too?”

“I think so. I’m not sure. It’s all so unspoken. And it’s complicated because of work and it’s not just her, she has a kid.” “ Emily just blurted out. She stopped abruptly, trying to figure out if she gave too much away. Penelope put both hands flat on her knees.

“Em, you’re a catch. Anybody would be lucky to have you. If you want her; talk to her. Ask. It’ll help.” She smiled at the blonde and nodded slowly.

“What if she says no…” She whispered, not meeting the tech girl’s eye.

“Then we’ll drink and we’ll cry an we’ll make it work.” She promised. Emily gave her a watery smile and nodded. Penelope touched her cheek lovingly, before the door opened and Derek burst in.

“Lunch?” He asked, bending around the doorpost.

“You, my darling Adonis, have the best ideas.” Garcia said and got up immediately. “Come on, Em. And leave the pen. I know it’s cool.” She grinned, taking Emily by her elbow.

Emily shoved her manila folder to the side with a groan. “I don’t want to anymore. Can someone please need our help somewhere?” She whined, letting her head fall onto the desk. Morgan looked at her with a grin.

“Are you wishing for murders now, princess?” She rolled her eyes at him. Reid had just come back in and was clearing his bag on his desk and she’d even seen a glimpse of JJ before.  Rossi’s office door was now open and Garcia was updating him with something he’d requested. She loved it when the bullpen was buzzing with her colleagues. She even expected Hotch to still show his face today.

“Maybe a little. I’m just bored.” She admitted with a very sour face. Morgan laughed, shooting a paperclip at her.

“You’re whiny!” He scolded her. She stuck her tongue out. Right in that moment the doors to the BAU flew open, revealing a little blonde whirlwind. A disheveled Will walked in right after Henry. Reid’s face light up, as he saw the little boy. Garcia bolted out of Rossi’s office, about as fast as the boy had entered.

“Henry!” Penelope yelped, already climbing down the steps. But the little boy only had eyes for one person in the room. Emily turned around and saw him run around her desk. She caught him with ease.

“EMMY!” He squealed happily, wrapping his arms around her neck.

“Hey buddy!” She pulled him onto her lap, hugging him tightly.

“Oh thank god, Emily. There is a gas explosion downtown. Everyone is being called in. I couldn’t reach Jayje.” Will said, frantically.

“I got him. Go.” The brunette said without a second thought, grabbing Henry’s backpack that was dangling off of Wills shoulder. Henry sat comfortably on her hip, as he gave his dad a kiss goodbye. Will didn’t give it a second thought and ran out again. The second the door closed behind him, she could feel four pairs of eyes on her.

“What? I babysit like the rest of you.” She shrugged, holding Henry to her with a protective hand on his back.

“No, apparently you’re the baby whisperer, because I bought this boy every toy he will ever need and changed his diapers and still he prefers you.” Penelope said, walking up to them. Henry discovered her with a big smile and reached for her. Emily handed him off reluctantly. The little boy was hugged and talked to properly as Garcia caught Emily’s eye again. Emily looked at her suspiciously. Before she could say anything, Henry leaned against her legs again. She tapped his nose lovingly.

“Emmy, I brought dinosaurs!” He exclaimed excitedly.

“Awesome! Wanna play?” Emily said, sitting down again, glad to avoid Garcia’s laser stare. He climbed back onto her lap without a doubt. Right in that moment JJ burst through the door.

“Oh thank god! I just heard Will’s voicemail!” She ran right up to Henry.

“Hi mommy!” He chirped happily. He bent forward to give her a sloppy kiss. JJ lifted him from Emily’s lap.

“Thank you so much!” She gave Emily a half-assed kiss on her cheek. The brunette shot a look to the rest of the team. Garcia looked like the cat that got the cream. Her eyes rested on Morgan though, who was most likely to make fun of them.

“Awww, you make a lovely family.” He grinned promptly. JJ’s head whipped around to him.

“Excuse me?” The blonde asked. Emily had the sinking feeling this was not going to end well.

“The little man loves his other mommy.” He winked, clearly toying with her. To her dismay Reid joined in as well.

“It would make sense. Emily is very mothering of Henry. JJ asked her to pick up Henry more recently. Prentiss bought a car seat last week. They are very good friends. And we believe Emily has been seeing someone recently.” He chipped in. Emily felt like banging her head on the desk for the second time today.

“Let me translate Reid for you: you’d make a cute couple.” Morgan said, softly shaking with laughter. Garcia put a hand on his shoulder and slowly shook her head, as she saw the brunettes face.

“Ha. Ha. Don’t be ridiculous, guys.” JJ bit back, spinning on her heels and taking Henry back to her office in a determent stride. Emily’s mouth fell open in surprise. She stared after the pair of blondes, walking from her view. To her absolute horror, she felt her eyes prick with oncoming tears. She got up wildly, accidently bumping her chair into the desk with a ‘clung’. Without looking at the rest of the team or the two insufferable blondes, she fled the scene.

Emily stood in the bathroom two floors down, she didn’t want to be found by any of her team members, especially not by Penelope, who had probably figured her out by now. She held her head backwards, willing the tears not to fall, as they pricked behind her eyes. She didn’t even know why she was so upset. This saved her time. At least she didn’t have to talk to JJ about this anymore. It apparently saved her from a world of embarrassment. If JJ thought of the idea of them as ‘ridiculous’, she was pretty glad she didn’t bring it up. The word echoed through her head, as if to mock her further. She pressed her palms against her closed eyes in a last attempt to compose herself, but the tears slipped out anyway. She couldn’t believe how far she let herself fall for her colleague. She had let herself get sucked in and allowed herself to hope for something absolutely ludicrous. She was so stupid. She sucked in a deep breath, jumping up and down a few times. She let some cold water run over her wrists and decided it was a good time to go home and open that a big expensive bottle of wine she’d been saving. She looked in the mirror and fixed her mascara briefly, squared her shoulders and watched her mask slip into place. Only when she felt in total control again, did she leave the restroom.

She felt Morgan’s eyes on her as she started packing up her things.

“Are you okay, Prentiss?” He questioned a little unsure. She nodded stiffly.

“Yeah, of course.” Her voice implied he was being absolutely silly.

“Uh, yeah. Okay. You want to join Garcia and myself for a drink?” He offered. She knew he was onto her, but she didn’t care. She shook her head. It didn’t matter that he was trying to help. She just wanted to be alone for a bit. There weren’t a lot of scenarios that seemed more horrifying at the moment than bursting into tears at a bar with Morgan and Garcia.

“Not tonight. Rain check?” Emily didn’t even feel like coming up with an excuse. He nodded, accepting her dismissal immediately.

“Emily, can I see you in my office for a second?” JJ called from behind her. Her head whipped around in a millisecond. Her shoulder fell as she threw her head in her neck with a loud ‘Ugh’. Morgan smiled softly, motioning for her to go. She dropped her bag on the desk as she marched over to the half open door.

Henry was sitting on the couch, playing with his beloved plastic figures and she popped her head around the door. He smiled at her as she did at him.

“What, JJ?” She asked, without even walking in. The blonde looked a little lost at her defensive body language.

“I… uh, was wondering if you, uh, wanted to have a late dinner with us tonight.” JJ asked, biting her lip uneasily.

“I can’t tonight.” Emily said without missing a beat. “Was that it?” JJ frowned a little.

“Yeah, that was it. Are… are you okay?” She took a step towards Emily. The brunette instantly took a step back, maintaining the distance between them.

“Yeah. Fine.” She snapped at the blonde. “Bye little buddy. See you soon, okay?” She waved lovingly at Henry and turned around without waiting for the reaction. She stalked over to her desk, grabbed her bag and almost ran to the elevator as she heard JJ call her name behind her. She didn’t stop.

Chapter Text

Emily didn’t answer her phone as JJ called that night, nor did she pick up with Garcia. She did curse herself as she’d emptied her bottle of wine and got woken up by a text at 6 in the morning to come into work. She briefly wondered if Henry was going to be okay, but pushed the thought down, as she shouldn’t worry about it. Her hung over state did not do her any favors as she arrived at the conference room 10 minutes early and without coffee. JJ threw her a worried look. She felt a lot better though as she saw Morgan and Garcia stumble into the room, looking way worse than she did. She giggled.

“Not a word.” Derek pointed out grumpily. She held up her hands in mock surrender.

They ended up flying to Las Vegas to investigate a series of strippers, being murdered Jack the Ripper style. Emily had forced herself to be normal to JJ, but she avoided her where she could and had dodged any questions from Garcia actively. Which was anything but easy. She hadn’t sat next to JJ on the jet, hadn’t offered to bring her coffee during the case and had gotten lunch with Morgan by herself. Hotch had given her the stern look, that screamed ‘fix it’ about 12 times today, but she wasn’t ready. She felt hurt and angry, but she wasn’t going to let the other woman see that. If she talked to her now, all of those feeling would just spill out and she was just not willing to do that.

Emily grabbed a cup of coffee at the police station. It made her a bit happier that it was a cute cat mug. She decided to get some air, after she got 3 messages from Garcia that said ‘TALK TO JJ’. Emily wasn’t very good at talking. As a kid, she normally moved away before things got too complicated. As a grown up she just switched jobs. Or countries. And after that she just avoided romantic feelings altogether and went to one night stands, when she pleased. That’s the way she liked it. So how the hell did she get tangled up into this?

She slipped out the side door of the police station, which led to an alley between two buildings. Two very bad orange lights against the wall illuminated it. She could clearly hear the music coming from the bars and the noise of the traffic enveloped her. It wasn’t any colder outside than in, but it helped her clear her mind a bit. She took a sip of weak coffee and felt grateful for a moment alone. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall. She forced her mind away from the debacle she had created with her colleague and directed it to good espresso in Italy on a Sunday morning, hoping to calm down enough to keep her professional face on.

Emily’s quiet moment didn’t last too long. The second the door next to her opened, she knew it was JJ. She didn’t open her eyes and didn’t acknowledge her. The younger agent kept quiet, but walked up to her anyway. She felt the coffee cup being taken from her hands, but stubbornly kept her eyes shut. She felt the other woman’s body heat approaching, as JJ stepped into her personal space. The blonde’s hands settled on her hips, holding her in place as if she was afraid Emily would push her away. Getting too curious now, Emily slowly opened her eyes. JJ smiled an uncertain smile, leaning in to kiss her. Panic set in her bones. What was happening? Why? She should stop this immediately.

Obviously she didn’t react quickly enough, because the second JJ’s lips connected with hers, she knew she was lost. Apparently this is what she was good for. She moaned softly into JJ’s mouth. She let the other woman dominate the kiss for a few moments as she still lied to herself as to what she was going to do. As Emily felt her defenses slip, her brain screamed for the need for control. She didn’t want anything like yesterday to happen again. So she made a decision.

In a swift motion Emily grabbed JJ by her upper arms and shoved her into the wall. The blonde’s eyes snapped open in alarm, as Emily grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. She let out a surprised sound. Up until now, Emily had let JJ take control of her. But Emily felt so angry, she didn’t feel like she had a submissive nerve left in her body.

She pushed herself between JJ’s legs, getting as close to her as she could. JJ’s breath was coming in short pants, looking up at her as she craned her neck to get kissed again. But Emily dipped her head and kissed her neck. She trailed open mouth kissed down to her collarbone and sucked. JJ let out a little moan. She trailed her teeth over the same point, biting down with a little less vigor. If this wasn’t real, JJ would have to look in the mirror tomorrow and see the mark anyway.

The younger agent wrestled to get her wrists free. Emily let go and trailed her hands up under the blonde’s shirt. She scratched her blunt nails down her abdomen, as she kissed back up her neck. JJ’s hands came up to the back of her head, holding her close. “Emily…” She moaned, pushing herself against the brunette. The raven-haired woman grabbed onto her hips, guiding the movement JJ had initiated. She crashed her mouth against the blonde’s again. JJ ripped Emily’s T-shirt from her pants, so she could get her hands onto naked skin.

“I want you…” JJ breathed, attacking Emily’s neck with her mouth. But her words broke the spell. Emily immediately took a step back. She was still breathing hard and she ran a hand through her tousled hair. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t just have this. It hit her like a ton of bricks. She wanted all of it. She wanted the waffles in the morning. She wanted to toast with animal crackers. She wanted to wake up next to JJ. She wanted to take Henry to preschool in his car seat. She wanted soft kisses and loving touches. She didn’t want a quick fuck in an alley.

“I’m sorry… I can’t.” Emily just stuttered, walking further into the darkness.

“Wait? What?” JJ asked, beyond confused. Her shirt was so far up that her entire abdomen was visible and her hair had fluffed up from being pushed into the rough wall behind her. “I thought… you liked it…” She said clumsily, rubbing her collarbone where there was now a love bite. Emily laughed a humorless laugh. JJ caught up with her, stepping in front of her. Emily let her shoulders fall in a huff. “Tell me why you’ve been avoiding me.” The blonde demanded, pupils still blown. If she hadn’t been so mad at her, she would have admitted, it was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

“OH MY GOD, JJ really?” Emily didn’t even know how clueless a person had to be. She hadn’t actually been very discreet about it. She let her head fall backwards with an ‘argh’. The thing that annoyed her most was the tears, beginning to form in the corners of her eyes again.

“If you don’t want me, why didn’t you say something?” JJ looked at her with those big blue eyes and Emily felt her knees go weak.

“What I don’t want is to be your dirty little secret.” Emily bit back, stepping into the blonde’s body aggressively.

“What?” The blonde looked generally confused.

“If the thought of us together is so ridiculous, why are we getting it on in a dark alley behind police station?” She couldn’t hold onto the tears anymore. A few slipped down her cheeks. She wiped them away angrily. JJ’s face went slack for a moment, before a small smile graced her lips.

“Is that what you’re so upset about?” She asked gently, extending her hand to Emily’s cheek. Her thumb slowly caressed the wet flesh. “Em, I was just trying to get the boys off our back. I didn’t mean that. I wanted to take you home with us right after.” JJ gently pulled her into her. “I don’t want you to be any kind of secret.”

“You don’t?” Emily whispered in disbelieve. JJ shook her head. “What do you want?” The brunette asked shakily. JJ was silent for a moment, as if she was weighing the words in her mouth.

“I want to wake up next to you more often. I want to watch you and Henry play. I want you to make me dinner sometimes. I want to cuddle up next to you on the couch. And I would really like some more of what we just did.” JJ gave her a little wink at the last part. Emily gave a little snort of laughter. “Does any of that sound good to you?” The blonde asked, circling her arms around Emily’s waist. The brunette smiled, wiping the tears of her cheeks, to make room for a beautiful smile.

“All of it.” She admitted.

Chapter Text

“Hey Emily. He is almost ready for you!” Will said, holding open the front door. She stepped inside, waiting for the uneasy feeling at the domestic gesture. The feeling never came.

“I heard you did great on the shooting range.” She picked up a conversation, grabbing Henry’s backpack in the process.

“Oh yeah! Passed with flying colors.” Will answered proudly. Henry came hopping down the stairs. His hair flew up a few inches with every hop. Emily felt her hand reach out for him by its own. Her instincts told her not to let him hop once more.

“Hey Emmy.” He beamed. He looped his arms around her neck from 4 stairs above the floor, so he’d be the same height. He leaned into her without hesitation, knowing she would catch him.

“Oh buddy, you’re so heavy!” She grumped for his amusement, but picking him up with ease. She was kind of glad he hadn’t hopped once more.

“Emmy, we went to a carnival!” He babbled happily, while Emily put him down to put his shoes on. Will helped him with his laces as he let him tell the story.

“Is that where the ginormous bear came from?” She asked, pointing at the stuffed animal that sat next to the door, waiting to be stuffed into her car. She wasn’t looking forward to that. He nodded happily. “Pretty cool.” She smiled at him, not having the heart to tell him otherwise.

“Yeah, don’t tell JJ but he pretty much ate everything sugary we could find.” The man next to her confessed a little awkwardly.

“And hot dogs!” The kid chirped. Emily laughed at the enthusiasm. The lack of tact amused her to no end.

“Let’s not tell mommy.” She agreed with Will. She was starting to like the man more and more. Not being with JJ helped his likability increase tenfold.

“We went this morning though, so we have gone through a sugar rush and 2 naps. You guys should be good.” She laughed at the thought of that. Henry must have had a lot of similarity with a bouncing ball at some point during the day. It made her feel so damn special to be kept into the loop on things like these. It felt amazing to be part of Henry’s life like this.

“I think we’ll be okay. I’m picking up JJ at work, so I’m sure Penelope will wear him out before we get the chance.” Henry let out a hissed ‘yes!’ next to her, as he pulled on his jacket awkwardly. She zipped it for him. He hugged and kissed his dad goodbye as Emily dragged the bear into the car. She strapped him into his seat with ease by now. She contemplated strapping in the horrid bear as well, one look at Henry made her actually do that. The bear would probably smush him, if it fell onto him. She honked at Will before they left, which always made the boy squeal.

He babbled all the way over to the FBI building and Emily wouldn’t have it any other way. She’d listen to that little boy any time. She grabbed Henry, who grabbed the bear she already hated with a burning passion by now and made the effort to get him a visitor’s badge. Of course she swapped hers with his, so he could open all the doors for them with pride. As they stepped into the BAU, he opened the door for them and let her walk through first.

“We have a visitor, please hide all the crime scene photo’s.” Emily called out.

“Henry!” Reid exclaimed excitedly. The kid wobbled over to him as fast as he could, while almost toppling over under the size of the bear.

“Ah, there she is again. Mommy Emily makes a comeback.” Morgan teased. She rolled her eyes at him.

“Just tell Garcia, she can hug her godson, will you?” She shot back at him. He grinned and grabbed his phone. Emily gave a wave to JJ’s office as she saw the blonde behind the glass. JJ immediately made her way over to them, but was almost overrun by a tornado of color, moving toward the little blonde. Henry was enveloped by his godparents, as JJ walked the rest of the way up to Emily.

“How long do you think it’ll be until he notices me?” JJ asked, leaning into Emily.

“Could be a while.” She turned towards the blonde and whispered in her ear. “Wanna fool around?” JJ barked out a laugh. ‘Later’ she mouthed. Emily’s eyes rested on the little boy again, who was admiring a butterfly clip in Penelope’s hair.

“Hey Em…?” Emily tore her eyes off the little boy. “Come here.” She pulled Emily to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. The brunette blushed at the sudden openness. This was pretty much what she had wanted from JJ; something real. It made her feel more emotional then she had ever thought. She bit her lip to disguise the surge of emotion running through her body, but one look at JJ told her she’d been caught.

“Mommy!” Henry giggled, running over to her. JJ gave him a big kiss.

“Hey baby.” Henry hugged her with a big grin. He cuddled into Emily’s legs again, looking up to her and pouted.

“What is it, buddy?’ He pointed at his belly. She reached into her bag, presenting him with a package of crackers, which her immediately handed to JJ to open. Morgan watched the exchange in amazement.

“I’ll go get my stuff.” JJ touched Emily’s back lightly. Garcia narrowed her eyes.

“Oh my god. When you talk, you really talk, huh?” The perky blonde was practically vibrating with excitement. Derek looked from Penelope back to Emily. All of a sudden his eyes went comically wide. JJ walked back up to them, with her bag over her shoulder and her jacket in hand. She gave Emily a quick kiss on her cheek. Emily blushed and looked down at the floor.

“Come on Henry. I have the feeling Emmy will make us dinner, if we play our cards right.” JJ gave her a shit-eating grin. Still munching on crackers, he reached up to Emily. She picked him up and shifted him to her hip, like she had done so many times before.

“Really?” The boy asked. Emily made a ‘hmmm’ sound. “Pleaaaaaasssssseeeee?” Henry added, pressing his nose into her cheek clumsily.

“Alright, alright, you got me. I don’t stand a chance against the Jareau charm.” She grabbed her bag and pointed at the bear. “Jayje, you grab… that.” JJ looked at the monstrosity.

“What did you do?” She asked in horror.

“It wasn’t me! It was definitely Will!” She defended herself. “Tell her!” Emily brought Henry into it as she started walking towards the elevators. JJ waved a quick goodbye to the rest of the team as she followed her family.

“Well who would have thought?” Morgan exclaimed, leaning back into his chair, watching them walk away.

“I told you it would happen.” Penelope squealed, bouncing up and down next to his desk in pure excitement.

“What happened?” Reid asked confused, looking between Garcia and Morgan.

“Seriously?” Derek asked, still surprised at his lack of social understanding. He turned his desk chair towards Spencer. “How are you even a profiler, genius?”