Title: Unexpected Discoveries
Author: wild-angel82
Pairing: Prentiss/JJ
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Criminal Minds. I wish I did, though.
A/N: I know it took me a while to get this story started, but hopefully I will be able to update regularly. And of course I hope that you will enjoy it!
Summary: In an effort to avoid advances from a certain southern detective, JJ tells him that she's dating Emily and even kisses her to prove it. She soon realizes that she can't get that pretend kiss out of her mind… JJ/Emily femslash all the way!

***

Chapter 1

"Did we really have to take this case?" JJ asked in a disconsolate voice as she took her seat on the plane and pulled out some of the case files. "Didn't we just go to New Orleans like last month or something?"

"That was actually 4 months ago." Reid clarified. "And by the way, what exactly is your problem with New Orleans?"

"It's not so much New Orleans," Emily explained as she took her seat opposite JJ. "As a certain southern detective." She grinned as she looked at JJ meaningfully.

"Aha." Reid digested the information and waited for a second to remember exactly who Emily might be talking about. Then he continued. "So let me rephrase my question… What exactly is your problem with a certain southern detective?"

Reid looked at JJ expecting an answer, but instead of JJ, it was Emily who spoke.

"The detective is in love and JJ is giving him the cold shoulder." She recounted and grinned again.

"Thank you very much for this highly captivating recap of my love life." JJ shot, pretending to be mad at Emily, while in reality she was a little amused by the whole situation.

"Oh…" Reid nodded as he seemed to be starting to understand the problem. "I heard you gave him your card, so I thought you liked him or something."

"To be honest," JJ kept replaying the card giving scene in her mind as she spoke, "I don't know what possessed me to do that. I mean sure he was nice to me and all, but did I really want him to call me? Hell no!"

"Should have thought of that before." Emily pointed out and she couldn't help but chuckle a little. She was clearly having fun at JJ's expense and thought that her friend's predicament was source of good entertainment. But at the same time, if she had to be honest with herself, she felt a great relief that JJ wasn't interested in the guy.

"Yeah well, it's not like you have never done anything that you later on regretted." JJ shot back at her friend, as she was sure she was not the only person to ever do something stupid, like give her phone number to someone who she really didn't want a phone call from.

Emily smiled and winked at her, "If you only knew honey. If you only knew."

"I'll gladly hear some stories." JJ smiled and looked at Emily encouragingly.

"Oh no no, not this time." Emily protested. "Right now it's the 'gang up on JJ and tease her about her southern admirer' time."

Reid laughed and JJ hit him on the head with a stack of papers. "You traitor!" She shot him an 'I'm gonna kill you later' look.

"Hey, not my fault that Emily seems to like seeing you in pain." He tried to defend himself. "I'm just going with the flow and concentrating on the hottest topic at hand." He smirked.

"And since the hottest topic seems to be you and your detective…" Emily started , but JJ cut her short.

"First of all, he is not my detective." JJ made sure everyone knew that. "And no matter how much he may want it, it ain't gonna happen."

"So he does want something?" Emily looked at JJ with a more serious expression on her face.

"Honestly I don't know exactly what he wants, but I have no intention of ever finding out." JJ explained her stance on the issue. "I just wish he would stop calling me all the time. I mean I didn't wanna go out with him last week, what makes him think I'm gonna change my mind this week?"

"Looks like he has been quite persistent, huh?" Emily asked.

"Kind of." JJ admitted, slightly irritated as she thought of Will's phone calls. "I mean the first two or three times were OK and we talked for a bit and joked, but I made it clear that I didn't see us ever going out or anything. " she said and paused for a moment. "At least I thought I made it clear. But apparently I didn't, since he kept calling. I don't know how else to tell him that I am just not into his southern charm or whatever it is that he thinks he has going for him."

"Looks like it's gonna be so much fun for you to work with him again." Emily said, stressing the word 'fun'.

"Yeah, I just can't wait." JJ sighed.

"Hey, if you want I can take care of him." Derek Morgan suddenly joined the conversation and startled the other three agents a little bit, because they had no idea he was listening in.

"Thanks, Derek." JJ smiled at him. "I don't think I will be taking you up on your offer, though."

"Your loss." Derek grinned. "I would have had so much fun letting the guy down easy."

"Yeah right." Emily laughed. "I'm scared to even think about what your definition of easy is." She added in between laughs.

"Hey, I'm a gentle guy." Derek insisted. "Just ask…" He paused for a moment trying to come up with a name, but somehow it didn't come to him.

"My point exactly." Emily said awfully proud of herself. "But don't worry, we still love you." She gave Derek an encouraging look and smiled at him, to which he quickly responded with his own smile.

"Yes we do." JJ agreed. "And if I need help with you know who, I will be sure to let you know." She finished with a huge grin on her face.

"You do that." Derek nodded, grinning as well. "I will be happy to assist."

"Am I safe to assume that those grins aren't about the case?" The four of them suddenly heard Hotch's accusing voice above their heads and looked up to see their boss. "Unless there is something about the case that I'm missing?" he asked and looked at them meaningfully.

"Sorry, Hotch." JJ was the first one to speak as she shot Hotch an apologetic glance. "We got a little bit distracted."

"Yeah, I noticed that." Hotch said nodding his head.

"We're going back to the case right now." Derek promised and looked at JJ. "So, what do we know?"

***

Chapter 2

"Welcome to New Orleans, once again." Detective Will LaMontagne Jr. welcomed the BAU team as they walked through the hallway of the local police station. "Thank you so much for coming, I really appreciate it. It's great to see you all." He said and looked at the agents, paying special attention to one Jennifer Jareau. She looked absolutely stunning in a navy blue suit and her blonde hair falling loosely on her shoulders. He was a little bit mad at her for not responding to his phone advances, but he was sure that she wasn't going to be able to resist him now that they finally met in person again.

"You're very welcome." David Rossi shook Will's hand. "We are happy to assist in any way. We want the same thing, which is to solve this case."

"That we do." Will responded, of course not mentioning the fact that he might want a little bit more than just to solve the case. "As you remember," he added as he lead them to a big room with a round table in the middle, "This is the conference room. Feel free to use it in any capacity. You remember where the coffee machine is, right?" He asked and looked at the BAU team for reassurance. They all nodded their heads. "Well, good." He continued. "Make yourselves comfortable."

"Thank you, detective." Hotch sent a small smile towards Will. "We appreciate the hospitality."

"So what's the game plan for today?" Emily asked, knowing that they couldn't afford to lose any time. Just like with every case, time was something very very precious and they all were fully aware of it.

"There are a couple of witnesses that we still haven't gotten round to questioning regarding the last murder." Will explained. "I was thinking we could split into groups and do that now. You can also visit the last two crime scenes if you want. They are still available to be investigated. Officer Evans, who is right outside, will be happy to assist you. Here is the list of the witnesses that still need to be questioned." Will handed the BAU members the list that he had compiled.

"OK then. David and Emily, you take the first two witnesses, Reid, if you don't mind, go with detective La Montagne to see the crime scenes and see what else you can come up with." The four of them nodded, accepting their assignments."I'll take officer Evans to question the other two witnesses. JJ, you stay here and work on the statement for the media. Don't give out too much information, though, so be sure to consult with the local officers regarding how much the media already know."

"Got it." JJ agreed.

"So, is everyone ready?" Hotch asked and looked around the group. Everyone seemed to be on the same page and knew exactly what they were supposed to do. And within five minutes, the conference room was empty, with only JJ sat at the table and going through the case files again to make sure she was well prepared for her task.

It was 5pm and JJ was just done making a statement and talking to some reporters. She had done that millions of times before, but somehow that case was especially difficult. She didn't quite understand why that was – maybe because the press seemed to know particularly much about the case and they kept asking really difficult questions. Or maybe it was because she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Either way, she couldn't help but feel that her head was going to explode any moment now.

She took a deep breath and went to the conference room where she hoped she would be able to rest for a couple of minutes before everyone else got back from their assignments. She took a seat and rested her head on the table. She knew she couldn't afford to waste much time, but she felt like she really needed a moment to herself.

"Tough break, huh?" A voice behind her suddenly startled her and as she turned around she saw Will entering the conference room with two cups of coffee. "Here," he placed one of them on the table in front of JJ. "I thought you could use a refreshment." He smiled.

"Thanks." JJ wasn't crazy about Will being there with her, but she certainly wasn't going to turn down coffee.

"So how is it going?" He asked to somehow start up the conversation.

"Well, I just got done making a statement and now I need to go over some things here in the files." She explained.

Will started looking at her more carefully. She certainly did look exhausted, but she was still beautiful. He couldn't wait for her to finally succumb to his charm. She had no doubt that she eventually would. There was no way she would ever turn him down.

"You haven't returned any of my phone calls recently?" He finally decided to talk about what had been on his mind the entire day.

"Will…" She started to say something, but Will interrupted her.

"I get that." He said and JJ looked at him surprised. "I bet you were waiting until you were finally able to see me in person, right?" He asked with a smug look on his face and JJ couldn't help, but laugh inside at how clueless Will really was.

"Look, Will, I really thought that my ignoring your calls would send a clear message, but apparently it didn't… So please let me explain this to you one more time – I will not be going out with you. Not now, not ever."

"And just how do you know?" He smirked, still 100% sure that she would eventually give in. "You haven't even given me a chance." He added, hoping that he was on the way to getting JJ to agree to go out with him.

JJ felt helpless and had no idea what to say. She knew that even if she told Will that she was seeing another guy, he would never give up, so she came up with a reason she knew would make Will go away, "I can't go out with you, because you're night the right gender." She finally revealed and she saw that it took a while for Will to register what he had just heard.

"Are you saying that you're… gay?" He asked, as if it was the weirdest thing he had ever head. "You never said anything?" He was still totally baffled.

"I didn't feel like sharing this with you, Will. But now you know. I'm gay and I'm in a relationship," She said and immediately realized that she shouldn't have said that, but she decided to continue, "So please let's just let it go."

"You're in a relationship?" He apparently couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How in the world do you find time to have a relationship?"

For a moment JJ stood there frozen and finally spoke, "Let's just say that it's someone in the same line of work." She explained and a second later she noticed Emily walking into the conference room. "As a matter of fact, there she is." JJ smiled and quickly turned around to face the older agent. And before she knew it, she walked up to the brunette and her lips were on Emily's, leaving Will a little wide eyed and Emily totally shocked in an unexpected lip lock with her younger colleague.

***

Chapter 3

After a few seconds, JJ pulled away, sure that she was making Emily feel extremely uncomfortable. She looked at her friend and saw that she was totally bewildered, but before Emily could form any sort of verbal reaction to what had just happened, JJ looked at her meaningfully, hoping that Emily would catch on and follow JJ's lead in this little charade.

"Hi honey," JJ smiled sweetly, "I was just telling Will here about us. How long has it been that we've been together?" She asked, desperately hoping that Emily would realize what was happening here and play along.

"I think it will be 5 months next week." Emily replied and put her arm around JJ in a loving manner. JJ breathed a huge sigh of relief when she realized Emily was able to figure out what was going on and decided to help her out. She rested her head on Emily's shoulder and turned to Will.

"So now you know the truth." She told him. "I'm sorry I kept this from you." She pretend-apologized. "I should have told you from the beginning, so you wouldn't waste your time. I hope you can forgive me." She finished and looked at Will with pleading eyes.

"So you two really are… a couple?" Will looked at the two females still a little shocked at what he was seeing. "Wow." He said, more to himself than to the two of them.

"And a happy couple I might add." Emily beamed and placed a soft kiss on JJ's cheek. The sensation that the simple cheek kiss sent to JJ almost scared the blonde agent. But at least she was getting rid of Will.

"And your boss is OK with that?" Will inquired, trying to wrap his head around the revelation.

"Well, he wasn't thrilled at the beginning." JJ explained, "But when we proved that our relationship doesn't affect our work, they decided to cut us some slack."

"Wow." Will repeated and kept staring at Emily and JJ. Finally, he decided that he simply couldn't take this anymore. "I think I need some fresh air." He excused himself and left the conference room. JJ sighed with relief as she heard the door close behind Will, but when she turned to face Emily, she could see in Emily's eyes that this was far from over.

"What the hell was that?" Emily looked at JJ with an expression that clearly said that Emily realized JJ apparently had gone crazy.

"I am so sorry, Em." She started to explain herself, her eyes begging Emily to forgive her, "I just didn't know what else to tell him."

"So you told him that we're dating? What in the world possessed you to do that? Couldn't you just tell him that there is another guy in your life and leave it at that? I'm sure he would have let up then." Emily definitely did not understand JJ's need for this little charade.

"I don't know, maybe I could have." JJ admitted and kept looking at Emily as if trying to say 'please please forgive me', "But for some reason I felt like telling him I was gay was safer."

"So why did you even have to tell him we're dating? Don't you think telling a guy you're gay would be reason enough for him to let it go?"

JJ knew Emily was asking some very valid questions and she herself didn't completely comprehend why she did what she did. "I don't know, Em." She started explaining again, "I just told him that I was gay and then I mentioned that I was seeing someone and then you walked in and before I knew it, I was kissing you. I'm so sorry, Em. I really really am sorry. I just freaked out, because he wouldn't leave me alone and I didn't know what to do and I thought…"

"OK, OK, OK…" Emily placed her hands on JJ's shoulders and looked at her sympathetically, "Just breathe, OK? Just please take a breath." She begged and JJ started laughing as she realized that she indeed was a little oxygen deprived after her attempted apology. She took a deep breath and once again looked at Emily trying to ask her for forgiveness.

"So are we cool, or do I have to bring you coffee for a month or something?" JJ asked with a smirk, without having the slightest idea of the effect her smile had on the older agent. Emily knew there was no way she could ever be mad at JJ, not when her lips were curled in a beautiful smile and there were those sparks in JJ's eyes that she loved so much.

"We're cool, we're cool." Emily smiled gently to make sure JJ knew everything was OK, "I would just appreciate some kind of warning the next time you decide to sexually harass me." She added laughing and noticed the weird expression on JJ's face.

"The next time?" JJ asked looking at Emily suggestively.

"Oh you know what I mean." Emily decided to brush it off, but she couldn't help feeling that she certainly wouldn't mind if there was a next time. Except that there was no way anything like this was going to happen again, so there was no point in hoping or even thinking about it at all.

"Yeah, I know." JJ agreed and it only convinced Emily even more that she had to forget about the whole thing as soon as possible. She did a good thing helping JJ get rid of Will and that was that and there was no reason to read anything more into it. It was just JJ in the state of panic and now everything was going to go back to normal. After all, it's not like it was a real kiss or anything.

"Aren't you afraid Will is going to mention something to the team?" It suddenly dawned on Emily that the whole charade may not be as over as they would like it to be. "I mean what do we do then?"

"Don't worry, somehow I think that Will is too shocked to talk to anyone about what we told him." JJ reassured her colleague, but truth be told, she wasn't so sure of what she was saying either. She was hoping, though, that Will indeed would not breathe a word about her and Emily's "relationship" to anyone.

"I hope you're right." Emily seemed a little worried. "Unless you really do wanna celebrate our 5-month anniversary next month?" She laughed and JJ couldn't help but smile back at her.

"As much fun as I'm sure that would be, we wouldn't want to subject the team to anymore additional stress, now would we?" JJ asked grinning and Emily could swear JJ was flirting with her. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part, she could no longer tell.

"I guess not." Emily agreed and decided to change the subject. After all, they were here on a case. "So, how did the media circus go?"

"I've had better days." JJ sighed. "But I'll be fine. I just feel strangely tired, that's all. I need a good night sleep."

"You'll get it soon enough." Emily smiled. "But not until we figure out what we have been able to learn about the unsub today. Everybody should be here any minute." Emily pointed out and the two of them took their seats to wait for the others to arrive before they could go back to work.

***

Chapter 4

"I am so beat!" JJ exclaimed as she and Emily entered their hotel room at about 9pm the same evening. The team along with the New Orleans police had gone through all the pieces of evidence they had available and they had decided that there really was nothing more they could do, so it was better to get a good night sleep and start in the morning with a fresh perspective.

"So you keep saying." Emily chuckled. "For a couple of hours now."

"I know!" JJ couldn't help but laugh at herself. "I don't know what it is. For some reason this city seems to be making me so exhausted. It's funny, really." She sighed and sprawled herself on her bed. Emily sat on hers as well, because even though she didn't seem as tired as JJ, she certainly didn't mind sitting on something more comfortable than a plastic chair at a local police station.

"Might be all the kissing that you're doing." Emily joked and looked at JJ with obvious amusement. JJ became a little uncomfortable, which didn't go unnoticed by Emily.

"Yeah, did I mention how sorry I was about that?" JJ looked at Emily for reassurance that the brunette wasn't upset about the little impromptu kiss in the conference room.

"I believe you apologized once or twice." Emily grinned.

"Seriously, Em. I can't tell you how sorry I am about my little freakout and about lying to Will about us being gay and all that."

"Well technically…" Emily started and paused for a second, not sure if this was really the right moment to do that. But she finally decided that it was now or never, otherwise JJ was definitely going to think that she was trying to hide something from her. "Technically, you only half lied to him." She finally admitted and studied JJ's face intently waiting for a reaction.

"What?" JJ asked confused. Clearly, the revelation that Emily had just made didn't register with the blonde. For a moment she was trying to figure out what Emily had meant, until it finally dawned on her. "Oh…" She whispered, and looked at Emily carefully. "Really?"

"Yeah." Emily admitted slowly, "Really." For a moment there was a complete silence in the room and Emily wondered if she had just made a mistake. But she couldn't have. After all, what kind of friendship did she have with JJ if that was something that would bother the young agent. "Is that a problem?" She finally decided to ask and literally held her breath waiting for JJ's response.

"No, of course not." JJ almost shouted and Emily breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe it wasn't a mistake to tell her after all. "It's just that you never said anything." JJ continued.

"Well, it never came up I guess." Emily replied trying to figure out why it was exactly that she had never mentioned anything to anyone before. "I didn't really feel like introducing myself 'Hi, I'm agent Emily Prentiss. Oh and by the way, I'm gay.' It's not like you tell all the new people that you meet that you're straight, right?"

"Point taken." JJ had to agree with Emily to some extent. "But we've talked about stuff and all…"

"It's not like I was trying to hide it or anything." Emily was becoming more and more defensive.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." JJ felt really bad about how she must have come across. "I didn't mean to suggest that you did. I'm just surprised it never came up. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"That's OK, you didn't." Emily smiled softly. "I guess I overreacted a little. That seems to happen to me sometimes."

"Happens to the best of us." JJ sent Emily a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it." For a moment JJ kept wondering what else she should say or do. Finally she asked, "Do you need me to keep this a secret or something?"

"No, absolutely not." Emily replied. "I mean don't start wearing 'Emily is gay' T-shirts or anything," JJ couldn't help but burst into laughter at that idea, "But I don't need you to go out of your way to protect my little 'secret' either. Just be cool about it." She finished.

"OK. And thanks for telling me." JJ really was grateful that Emily felt comfortable enough with her to talk to her about it. "I mean it's not like it changes anything between us." JJ finally added and Emily couldn't help but feel a little sad about that fact. Life would be so much better if it did change something between the two of them. "I still love you, you know?" JJ added after a while, but Emily knew she obviously only meant as a friend.

"I know you do. I know you would never judge me."

"What's there to judge?" JJ didn't seem to understand completely what Emily meant. "It's not like it changes who you are."

"Well, not everyone is of that opinion. My mother, for example, has always believed that 'the gay thing', as she used to call it, is just my way to spite her. Of course she had to make it about her, because everybody knows that when you want to spite your parents you turn gay." Emily laughed and JJ did too, but deep down she knew that the memories probably weren't so funny for Emily.

"Did you always know you were gay?" JJ inquired, not sure if she was doing the right thing by asking or if Emily even wanted to share anything like that with her. "Unless you don't wanna talk about it, in which case I will just shut up."

"No it's OK." Emily sighed and it took her a moment to gather her thoughts. "I wouldn't say I've always known, but I did discover it pretty early. I was about fifteen or sixteen maybe. All my female friends, not that there were many, would of course chase the boys and I did too, because apparently that's what 15-year old girls were supposed to do. I did have some experiences with guys, but nothing that was really worth remembering. At first I thought that it was because I didn't meet the right guys, but pretty soon I realized that I just didn't like guys at all." Emily took another moment to collect her thoughts. "When my mother realized that I was dating girls, she totally freaked out. She was sure that I was doing this as a sign of rebellion or something. She tried to 'straighten me out' for a while, but we didn't really see that much of each other, so it didn't help. We argued about it for a couple of years and then I went to college and that's that. My mother stopped trying to change me and sometimes she seems like she has accepted who I am, but sometimes I feel like she still thinks that there is something wrong with me. I don't think that feeling will ever go away."

"I'm so sorry, Em." JJ looked at her friend with a little compassion. She knew that it must have been really hard for Emily not being accepted by her mother.

"It's OK, really." Emily smiled. "I've learned to live with that. At some point I just realized that my mission in this world is not to please my mother and I started living my own life. My mother is free to be a part of it if she wishes. If not, I'm not gonna keep beating myself up about it."

"Well good for you." JJ said energetically and suddenly she remembered how tired she was as she felt a very strong urge to yawn. "That's right, I totally forgot that I was so exhausted." She laughed. "I guess that's the effect you have on me, Emily Prentiss." JJ winked at her friend, got up from the bed and headed towards the bathroom. "You don't mind if I take a shower now, do you?"

"No, go ahead."

"Thanks." JJ replied and disappeared inside the bathroom. Emily sighed and laid back on her bed. She certainly did not expect this conversation to happen, but she was definitely glad that it did. It was really nice to talk to JJ. And just like she said before, it wasn't that she was trying to hide being gay from anyone, but she also never really volunteered that information. She was glad that JJ now knew, so there was at least one good thing that came out of the whole 'let's tell Will we're gay' scenario. Well that, and the memory of JJ's lips on hers.

***

Chapter 5

It was three days later and the team was on their way back to Quantico. Like many times before, they had caught the unsub, preventing him from taking yet another life, so they felt accomplished. As always, they knew that there were still many more psychos out there in the world, but at least they had caught that particular one. They knew they had done a good job.

Rossi was reading an article in the paper and Reid was trying to teach Derek to play chess, but the older agent didn't seem to be that interested in the game really. He was having a good time though teasing Reid every once in a while. JJ was napping and Emily was sitting opposite of her, looking out the window, lost in her thoughts.

Why oh why did JJ have to kiss her? That made everything so much more difficult. Ever since she met the blonde, she had always had some sort of feelings for her. She couldn't quite place them, but she knew that she felt slightly more than just friendship for the younger agent. At first she thought it was just a harmless attraction and a temporary effect that JJ's amazing blue eyes and her radiant smile had on Emily. So she tried to ignore whatever it was that she was feeling, hoping that sooner or later it would pass. The problem was that It didn't. And the more she interacted with JJ, the more she talked to her, the more they bonded over wine or drinks, the more sure Emily was that what she felt for JJ wasn't just going to go away. So she tried to do her best to get rid of those feelings that she knew would never be reciprocated and maintain a healthy friendship with JJ. And it almost worked, until that one incident in a New Orleans' police department.

Emily turned her head and she was now looking at JJ breathing evenly in front of her. And just like every time she caught even the shortest glimpse of the blonde, she was amazed by her beauty. And even though JJ eyes were closed now, Emily had no problem remembering those beautiful blue eyes. Sometimes when she looked at JJ, she had to try really hard not to get lost in them. It didn't help that JJ had the most mesmerizing smile either. And those lips… Emily could still feel the taste of JJ's lips on hers. She could still remember the coffee aftertaste that the kiss had left her with. And the delicate scent of JJ's perfume…

Oh get a grip, Prentiss, she reprimanded herself. She knew she couldn't let her feelings for JJ, whatever they were, resurface. She tried to convince herself that once they get back to Quantico, everything was going to go back to normal. She had just had a pretty tough conversation the other night, which is probably why she started having those feelings towards JJ again. But once they get back home and forget all about New Orleans, everything would be just fine, including her relationship with JJ. It may not have been the kind of relationship she would wish to have with the blonde, but at least it was s something. JJ was just an overall amazing person and Emily really did feel blessed to have her in her life.

When she noticed JJ stirring, she quickly turned her head to face the window again, because clearly she couldn't be caught admiring JJ's beauty. Especially not by JJ.

The liaison slowly opened her eyes and looked around the plane. Reid was now reading a 1000-page book, which didn't surprise her one bit, and Derek seemed to be enjoying some tunes coming from his iPod. She couldn't locate Rossi, but she figured he had gone to get coffee or something. When she looked at the seat opposite of hers, she saw Emily looking out the window with her head rested comfortably on the headrest. At first she wanted to say something, but to her surprise, she felt something really strange while looking at the older agent, something she had never felt before. She had no idea what it was, but she knew that when she looked at Emily, she felt like she was seeing the brunette for the very first time. And she realized that she had never really appreciated Emily's beauty, which now it seemed so obvious. Emily was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman JJ had ever seen and she wondered why it took her this long to notice that. Not that she had paid that much attention to women anyway, but still… She caught the corner of Emily's eye and remembered how amazingly safe she always felt when Emily would look at her with those beautiful brown eyes. The effect those eyes had on her was almost freaky. And then there were Emily's lips, the ones she had kissed in a desperate attempt to get rid of a pushy admirer just a couple of days ago.

'Whoa!' she almost had to shake off the weird feelings that she just started to have thinking about Emily's lips. She blinked her eyes in an effort to make sure she wasn't still sleeping or something. Why in the world would she be thinking about Emily Prentiss' lips? And the way it felt to have them pressed to hers. In a kiss that she was almost too scared to admit felt… was "right" the word she was looking for?

Red light! Red light! She wanted to scream at herself, because clearly she was going insane and she had to stop being silly and concentrate on something other than the taste of Emily Prentiss' lips.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she felt someone gently brush against her legs. When she came back to reality, she realized that Emily was trying to get out of her seat and JJ was blocking her way.

"Oh, sorry." She smiled apologetically as she moved her legs a little, so that Emily could walk out of her seat.

"That's OK. I forgive you." The brunette smiled and walked away. JJ almost couldn't believe that she had never noticed that beautiful smile. She'd seen Emily smile many times before, but there was something different about her smile now. There was something she hadn't noticed before, but she couldn't quite understand what it was.

Finally she decided not to over think it too much. After all, this had been a tough case and she figured her mind was just going a little overboard with the emotions.

"You OK?" She suddenly heard a familiar voice and when she looked up she saw Emily with a worried expression on her face.

"I'm fine." She lied, as she knew she really wasn't that fine. But Emily didn't need to know she had spent the last 15 minutes thinking about their kiss. Emily certainly didn't need to know that. "I just need some sleep I guess. I told you that New Orleans has a weird effect on me."

"I hate to break it to you, JJ, but we're no longer in New Orleans." Emily pointed out smiling as she took her seat opposite to JJ again.

"Details, details." The blonde laughed.

"Any exciting plans for tonight?" Emily inquired to keep the conversation going.

"Yeah, very exciting plans." JJ grinned. "My jammies, my bed and Lifetime TV."

"I never would have pegged you for a Lifetime kind of gal." Emily replied slightly amused.

"Yeah, well, after all the horrible things that we see every day in our job, I need my dose of sappy happy endings." JJ explained and looked at Emily questioningly, "You're not gonna stop speaking to me because of that, are you?"

"No, I think it would take a little more than that to make me stop speaking to you." Emily assured her. "But you certainly do know how to surprise me, Jennifer Jareau."

"That's part of my charm." JJ grinned and Emily couldn't help but think that JJ had no idea how charming Emily really did find her.

***

Chapter 6

In the next couple of days everyone at the BAU office seemed to be extremely busy and there was basically no time for any team interaction. Emily was pleased with such turn of events, because at least she didn't have much time to run into JJ, which would no doubt lead to more annoying thoughts about the beautiful media liaison. JJ, too, was a little relieved that she didn't have to spend that much time with Emily. On the one hand she missed talking to her on a daily basis, but on the other she was scared that if she got too close to Emily again, the weird feelings she had back in New Orleans and on the way from New Orleans would come back. And she wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

It was 7pm and JJ was ready to go home to finally get some rest, when she saw Garcia's blonde hair pop into her office.

"Grab your gear and let's go!" She said in a singing voice. "Girls night out!" Garcia grinned.

"Pen…" JJ tried to protest, but Garcia wouldn't let her speak.

"No, no, no…" The analyst cut her short. "No excuses. Em is in and we will not let you turn us down." Garcia warned her friend.

"But I…"

"What did I say about excuses?" Garcia shot JJ a 'Don't even try to argue with me' look.

"OK, OK." JJ finally agreed, although the prospect of spending the entire evening with Emily made her a little uneasy. Which made her feel stupid, because Emily was her friend and she loved spending time with Emily. She loved sharing stupid stories with her, joking and seeing her smile. That beautiful smile and those captivating brown eyes…

I have got to stop doing this, JJ decided as she looked at Garcia and asked, "Just give me 10 minutes, OK?"

"You got it, but not a minute more." Garcia said and looked at JJ to make sure the liaison knew she wasn't kidding.

"Got it. I won't be long." She promised and Garcia disappeared into the hallway. JJ gathered the rest of her things and glanced at the mirror. She certainly didn't look her best after a hard day at work, but she thought she looked decent enough to be seen in public.

I can do this, she thought to herself as she took a deep breath and left her office.

"So whose turn is it to get the drinks?" Penelope Garcia asked as she looked at both her friends and tried to figure out who went to the bar most recently.

"I think it's JJ's." Emily said not really sure if she was right.

"No it's not." JJ protested. "I was just there. And the guy in the green shirt tried to hit on me." JJ winced at the thought and Emily was grateful that JJ had shot the guy down. But she knew that sooner or later there was gonna be a guy who JJ wouldn't shoot down and if she had to be honest with herself, she was dreading this moment.

"That's right." Garcia seemed to recall the situation. "He was kinda funny looking."

"I don't remember, really. I didn't pay that much attention." JJ admitted. "I wasn't interested anyway." She added and she could swear she heard Emily breathe a deep sigh of relief. But she was probably imagining things. Why would Emily care who she dates? She was probably relieved, because the guy was a loser.

"Coming back to my original question, whose turn is it to get the drinks?" Garcia asked again and looked at her friends more seriously. They both looked back at her and in that moment she knew it was her turn. "I'll be right back." She promised, took her wallet and started making her way towards the bar.

For a moment Emily and JJ sat in complete silence and Emily noticed that JJ was looking at her a little weird, in a way that she hadn't looked at her before. She was confused, because at some point she thought she had all of JJ's looks all figured out, but she couldn't figure out this one.

"Is something wrong?" She finally asked, because she no longer could stand the silence.

"No, everything is fine." JJ replied and hated herself for lying to Emily. "Why?"

"I don't know. You just seem… distant." Emily spoke softly and as she looked at JJ, she knew that she was definitely distressed about something. "Is there something bothering you? Is it me? Did I do something?"

"No!" JJ protested, a little too quickly to Emily's taste. "Why would you say that?"

"Because you barely spoke to me two words tonight." Emily started, "And it's not just tonight. You have barely spoken to me since we came back from New Orleans. I'm just worried about you, that's all."

"Don't be." JJ asked and sighed deeply. She had no idea her fear of being too close to Emily had been so apparent. She thought she had been doing a better job hiding her feelings, but then again this was Emily Prentiss she was talking about, one of the best profilers in the FBI. And even though JJ knew that Emily was probably not going to push the issue, she also knew that her friend would continue to worry about her and that was the last thing she wanted. She just didn't know how to be around Emily without having those unidentified feelings and flashbacks of their New Orleans kiss. If she kept feeling what she felt, though what that was she had no idea, there was no way Emily wouldn't be able to figure out that something was seriously wrong with her.

"You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?" Emily asked, a little troubled that JJ wouldn't talk to her about something that clearly on her mind.

"Of course I would." JJ promised, but she couldn't possibly talk to Emily about what was really going on inside her mind. She missed being able to tell Emily everything, but this was too weird to talk about to anyone, especially Emily.

"So, what did I miss?" Their thoughts were interrupted by their friend's voice and when they looked up they saw Garcia carrying a tray with three drinks.

"Finally!" JJ exclaimed and took one of the drinks. She was especially glad that Garcia was back, because she no longer had to kept convincing Emily that she was fine, when she really wasn't.

Garcia placed the tray on the table and made her way back to her seat. She took her drink and held it up.

"So what are we drinking to?" She asked and looked at her friends waiting for suggestions.

"I don't know. I think we have already drunk to everything that is toast-worthy." Emily chuckled. "We even drank to the pizza delivery guy that brought us pizza last week." She reminded them.

"Oh, he was hot!" Garcia said with a dreamy look on her face. "I wouldn't mind drinking with him." She added and all three girls laughed. After a while Garcia jumped out of her seat. "I know! I know!"

"What?" JJ asked curious, a little amused by Garcia's sudden outburst.

"I know what, or rather who, we should drink to." She made a small pause to make sure her friends were paying attention. "We should drink to us." She proposed. "After all, we are the coolest chicks on the planet!"

"That we are." Emily agreed and raised her glass. "To us."

And as they heard the glasses click, the three ladies got lost in their thoughts for a moment.

***

Chapter 7

JJ sighed with resignation as she looked at the huge pile of files on her desk. She had promised herself she was going to go through all of them by the end of the day, but it was already 7pm and she was nowhere near done.

"Ahhh." She moaned as she rested her head on the back of her chair. She was never going to finish unless she pulled an all-nighter and that prospect terrified her. Not that it would have been the first time she did that, but for some reason she was particularly opposed to the idea. But, what needs to be done, needs to be done, so she stood up and left her office to get some more coffee. The cup she had in her office had gotten emptied pretty fast, so she needed new supply.

When she was making herself a fresh pot of her favorite beverage, she heard a familiar voice behind her, "You're still here?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. And I will probably be here the entire night." JJ complained and Emily could see that the blonde was certainly not happy.

"That bad?"

'Worse." JJ laughed. "I have either overestimated my paperwork abilities or have been particularly slow today." She wasn't really sure which one it really was, "Either way, it's me and my friend from now on." She finished holding up her coffee cup. "What would I ever do without my good friend here?" She smiled.

"Do you…" Emily started, but hesitated for a moment. "Do you need some help?"

"I probably do." JJ admitted. "But it's my job and I would never ask anyone to do it for me."

"Oh come on, like you never helped anyone with their work." Emily reminded her. "I'd be more than happy to go through some stuff with you."

"Really?" JJ asked hopefully. She hated to be doing this to Emily, but on the other hand she really didn't know how she was going to do everything all on her own.

"Yes, really." Emily smiled. "I'm sure there are some things I can help you with. We'll do it much faster together and you'll still be able to get some sleep before the morning."

"I would so love you if you helped me." JJ shot Emily one of her sweetest smiles and Emily's heart melted. How could anyone not fall in love with that smile was beyond her.

"Let's just say you'll owe me. And I'll eventually collect." Emily grinned. "Deal?" She proposed as she extended her hand towards JJ.

"Deal." JJ agreed and shook Emily's hand. She couldn't help, but feel a small tingle as her hand remained connected with Emily's. She almost shivered and hoped to God that Emily didn't notice that.

When JJ agreed for Emily to help her with the files, she had no idea how difficult getting through that night was going to be. Yes, they seemed to be doing a lot better with the papers than she would have on her own, but she found it so hard to concentrate with Emily being so close to her. She could tell that Emily was tired and was so grateful that the brunette was sacrificing her night to do something that wasn't really her job. And as JJ would steal a glance at Emily, concentrated on the files she was reading, the media liaison was again absolutely captivated by Emily's beauty. But of course it wasn't just that she was beautiful – she was an amazing agent, a wonderful friend, always there when anyone from the team needed her. JJ knew that Emily would sacrifice a lot more for any one of her friends than just one night. She was just amazing, period.

"What?" JJ suddenly heard Emily's confused voice and realized that she had been blatantly staring at the older agent for the last five minutes or so.

"Nothing, why?"

"You've been looking at me funny. Something wrong?"

"No, no, everything is fine." JJ lied once again and really started to dislike herself for it. "I guess the work is just getting to me, you know? Way too much paperwork." She tried to brush it all off, but Emily knew that there was something strange going on with her friend, she just couldn't figure out what. It was 1am and she knew that they weren't up for a serious conversation, but sooner or later JJ was gonna have to tell her what's wrong, this much Emily knew.

"Well, we only have a couple of files left." Emily shared the happy news. "And then off to bed and off to sleep." She smiled, but JJ knew that she was not going to get too much sleep tonight. She was way too exhilarated from all the coffee and all the attempts not to stare at Emily too much. But Emily was making it so damn hard by being her amazing self.

About half an hour later, the two happily discovered that they had gone through all the papers they were supposed to and they could finally go home.

"Yes!" JJ exclaimed. "Finally!" She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Emily, "Em, I really don't know how to thank you."

"Well, according to the deal, I'll collect. When you least expect it." She added and grinned. "Trust me, it won't be pretty." She promised.

"I don't care." JJ replied with a smile. "For all your help tonight, feel free to make it not pretty." She joked as she got up and started collecting the things she knew she had to take home.

"Are you OK to drive or do you want me to give you a ride?" Emily offered when she looked more carefully at JJ and realized how tired the blonde must be.

"No, you've done enough." JJ declined the offer. "I'll be OK."

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow… Or actually later today." Emily laughed.

"I'm pretty sure you will." JJ smiled back at her and they started to make their way out of the BAU office. Emily was exhausted, but she appreciated the extra time she was able to spend with JJ, even if all they did was go through some papers. Sometimes Emily really hated herself for wanting to spend so much time with JJ when she knew deep down that eventually it was going to hurt. She loved every moment she spent with JJ, but at the same time the more time they spent together, the more sure Emily was that what she felt for JJ was not just friendship. And it terrified her.

The next day was the day Jennifer Jareau realized that whatever feelings she had for Emily, they were getting out of control. Interestingly enough, she discovered that when she went to make herself a cup of coffee and when she saw Emily by the machine, she turned around and went to her office. She had never done anything like that before. Whenever she would see anyone by the coffee machine, and especially Emily, she would always go and talk to them. But this morning, she was really scared to be alone with Emily and she realized that she didn't like the way things were. She didn't like the fact that it made her uncomfortable to think about her and Emily being alone in the room. And it drove her crazy that she couldn't stop thinking about the kiss that she and Emily had shared. The kiss that wasn't even a real kiss. This was insane and she didn't know how to make it normal again.

Her thoughts got interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come on in." She invited the person in and immediately got a little tense when she saw Emily entering her office.

"Hey, I was wondering if you've got a minute?" Emily asked. "I'd like to talk to you about something."

For a moment JJ wondered what to answer. She had a feeling what Emily wanted to talk about and she really wasn't ready just yet.

"Unless it's work related, I really do have things I have to do." She lied, once again almost despised by her own actions. "Sorry."

Emily wasn't totally sure that JJ was telling her the truth, but she wasn't about to make a scene. After all, they were in a work place and what she wanted to talk about was definitely personal.

"OK, I won't bother you then. I guess we'll talk some other time."

"I guess so." JJ agreed and it almost broke her heart to see a resigned Emily Prentiss leaving her office. This is getting ridiculous, she thought to herself. She couldn't just stop talking to Emily or run away every time she was supposed to be alone in the room with her. But how was she supposed to act normal around Emily when all she could think was the brunette's lips and killer smile?

It was 7pm and JJ was happy that she was able to spend a quiet afternoon at home. It had been a while since she was able to do that and she welcomed the opportunity with open arms. The last couple of evenings she had pretended to work, because she was terrified of going out for drinks with everyone else and interacting with Emily in a non work environment.

JJ had already opened a bottle of wine and was now cuddled up on her couch with a TV remote in her hand. When she was about to turn the TV on, she heard the doorbell ring.

"What now?" She exclaimed angry that someone dared to interrupt her relax with a bottle of wine time. "Coming!" She shouted and placed the wine on the coffee e table. When she opened the door, her legs almost gave out at the sight before her.

"Emily? What are you doing here?" She asked shocked, as her heart started to beat at least twice as fast as it had been beating before.

"I came to ask you what the hell is going on with you and I'm not leaving until you tell me the truth!" Emily said firmly as she let herself in without even asking for permission.

***

Chapter 8

JJ closed the door to her apartment and went into her living room, where Emily was standing. She couldn't help but smile at how comfortable Emily felt in the apartment and how well she knew the layout of it. However, the expression on Emily's face clearly indicated that she wasn't there to make nice. She was intent on finding out JJ's problem and she wasn't just gonna let it go. JJ wondered if maybe it indeed was time she told Emily what was going on with her. Surely, things couldn't get much worse between them than they had been in the last couple of weeks. All the avoiding she had been doing was driving her crazy and she knew that Emily was not going to buy her excuses for much longer. Nevertheless, how she was gonna talk to Emily or what exactly she was gonna tell her she had no idea.

"First of all, I am sorry for barging on you like this." Emily apologized and sincerely hoped that JJ would forgive her, "But I have been going out of my mind trying to figure out what's been bothering you and frankly, I'm really tired." For a moment it looked like JJ might want to say something, but Emily wouldn't let her, "And please don't insult me and tell me that everything is fine. I have let it slide a couple of times, but not anymore, JJ. I've had enough of your excuses. You've been avoiding me, it's like you don't even wanna be in the same room with me. You won't talk to me and I've seen the way you look at me. It scares me, JJ, because I have no idea what to make of it."

Emily looked at JJ intently hoping that the blonde would finally start talking, but JJ had been unable to collect her thoughts and just kept looking at Emily trying to figure out what to tell her.

"Like I said before," Emily continued, "I'm not leaving here until you tell me what's going on. So if you continue to remain silent, I do hope your guest bedroom is right where it has always been." Emily looked at JJ expecting an answer, but JJ only chuckled at brunette's last statement.

"I haven't moved it." She replied with a smile, but she knew this wasn't the kind of reply that Emily was expecting.

"JJ, please." Emily wasn't really that amused. "I'm worried about you and frankly, it hurts me a little that you won't talk to me. And you haven't talked to Garcia either."

"You've been talking to Garcia about me?" JJ questioned trying to sound mad, but in it didn't really surprise her that Emily had tried to find out what was bothering her.

"Don't pretend like it matters." Emily asked her. "You know damn well Garcia was the first person I would go to for answers regarding you. But this time she didn't have any and I just became really worried about you." Emily said softly and it broke JJ's heart that she was the reason Emily had been so upset. But how was she supposed to tell her about everything that she had been feeling lately. What if it would destroy whatever bits of friendship they still had left.

"Emily, I don't think I can…" JJ started, her voice trailing off, suddenly feeling that the prospect of telling Emily the truth was more and more scary.

"Yes you can!" Emily insisted and she was intent on finding out the truth. It had been killing her to see JJ behave the way she had been lately and she needed to know the truth. "I wanna know what the problem is!"

"But that's the thing," JJ was on the verge of losing it, "YOU are the problem!" She managed to say, but had no idea how to continue.

"Wow." Emily took the little outburst in and continued, "That frankly I didn't expect." She said sadly and paused for a moment. She couldn't believe JJ of all people would treat her like this. "When I told you that I was gay, I thought that you were the one person I could trust, someone who would never judge me. But with the way you have been acting lately, it does make me wonder if I was wrong about you." She took a deep breath, "I guess you aren't as cool with me being gay as I thought you would be."

JJ was speechless. She couldn't believe what Emily was saying. How could she think that she would treat her any different because she was gay? Did Emily really think that little of her? But then again, her behavior recently had been far from normal.

"You think it's because you're gay and I have some sort of trouble accepting it?" JJ inquired trying to make sure that she understood Emily's accusations right.

"Well what else could there be? I mean ever since I told you about me being gay, you've been treating me like I was some sort of a leper. And even when you do talk to me and we're in the same room, you're afraid to touch me. Why is that? Are you afraid that I'm gonna jump you or something?" She finished and looked at JJ with such sad eyes that JJ almost shivered.

"God, Em, you are so wrong! This is so not what it is!" JJ almost screamed as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't believe how much pain she had caused her friend and she was gonna make this right, even if it killed her. Emily couldn't go on thinking that she was anything but amazing.

"Then what is it, JJ? Please tell me the truth." Emily almost begged. She couldn't take this any longer and she needed to know, no matter what it was.

"The truth, Emily…" JJ began and took a deep breath, because she knew this was now or never. She knew that if she didn't do it right there and then, she might lose all her strength and never admit anything to Emily. "The reason I've been acting so strange lately is because ever since our little kiss in New Orleans, I've been having those weird feelings about you. And this has nothing to do with you being gay, but with the way I felt when I kissed you." She admitted, her heard pounding, her hands sweating and her eyes looking at Emily with such intensity that it literally made Emily weak in the knees. "And I don't even know what those feelings are, I have no idea how to describe them… All I know is that something weird happens to me every time I'm with you, something I have never felt in my entire life. And whenever I look at you, all I can think about is that kiss we had and…"

"You're thinking about our kiss?" Emily asked to make sure, because she couldn't possibly have just heard what she thought she heard. Did JJ really just admit to feeling something more than friendship for her. It seemed like it, but it was JJ and she was straight and there was no way she could possibly feel anything non friendship related for her. Or could she?

"All the time." JJ admitted. "Every time I look at you. And every time I do, I can't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss you again and…"

Emily glared at JJ and she knew right this moment that this conversation was not going to end well. Too much had been said and the feelings that have been boiling inside Emily were becoming too strong to keep them inside. She had to do something or she was going to explode.

"You really wanna know what it would be like to kiss me again?" Emily asked, almost out of breath, because the intensity of what she was feeling was literally depriving her of oxygen.

"I…" JJ tried to say something, but Emily couldn't take it any longer. She knew she was being selfish and she knew JJ was confused and she knew she was gonna hate herself for what she was about to do, but it was stronger than her. So she took one step closer to JJ and crashed her lips against the blonde's…

***

Chapter 9

Emily could not believe the sensation she felt when her lips landed on JJ's. She never realized how much she had wanted it until JJ placed that first kiss on her lips in New Orleans. And she didn't realize how much she wanted to kiss JJ again until she was tasting the blonde's lips for the second time. She tasted a little bit like vanilla lipstick mixed with red wine and a little bit like… well, JJ. And Emily knew it was the most amazing thing she had ever tasted in her entire life.

She expected JJ to push her away, slap her or do something else that would indicate that she was appalled by Emily's baldness. So she tasted JJ's lips as long as she could, terrified that the heavenly pleasure was soon to be cut short.

To Emily's surprise, nothing like that happened. Instead, JJ placed her right hand on the back of Emily's head, as if trying to pull the brunette even closer to her. And this was exactly what JJ was trying to do. She couldn't believe how amazing it felt to be kissing Emily again and she was terrified that if she didn't hold on to her tight, Emily was going to let go and stop the most amazing kiss that JJ had ever experienced.

And when Emily felt JJ's tongue hesitantly entering her mouth, she knew that JJ had had enough time to register what was happening and she had chosen to reciprocate the kiss. How mad was JJ going to be after the kiss was a whole different story, but for now, Emily kept tasting the liaison's lips almost sure that it was the last time she was going to be given the opportunity.

When they finally broke apart, Emily looked into JJ's eyes, trying to figure out how angry at her the blonde really was. Sure, she may have kissed her back, but it didn't mean that everything was going to be all fine now.

"I'm sorry." Emily said, slightly out of breath. "I really shouldn't have done that." She whispered almost sure that JJ was going to run away now or order her to leave, since, after all, it was JJ's place.

For a moment they kept looking into each other's eyes, their breathing shallow, until JJ finally spoke, "No, you really shouldn't have." She declared as she brushed Emily's hair from her face and gently caressed the brunette's cheek. She could feel Emily shiver at her touch and she herself wasn't that composed either. "You really, really, should not have done that." JJ repeated as she took a step closer towards the brunette and closed the gap between them. And when her lips connected with Emily's again, she literally heard the birds singing and the bells ringing and all the other things that are supposed to happen when you experience a perfect kiss. She had always thought that all the talk about the phenomena that supposedly happens during a kiss was just that, talk, but when Emily Prentiss' tongue wandered inside JJ's mouth and started playing with hers, Jennifer Jareau knew that it wasn't just talk. She felt weak in the knees, she could swear that the birds were getting louder and were those stars she was seeing?

JJ ran her hand through Emily's hair, because she felt she had to have even more contact with the brunette. Emily now had one hand on JJ's back and moved the other one to caress the blonde's left cheek, all the while never breaking the kiss. And the kiss would have gone for eternity, if it wasn't for the fact that they needed oxygen.

When they finally broke apart, they kept looking at each other intently, knowing that something life altering had just happened. They were both sure of it.

"So now you know." Emily whispered softly as she ran her hand across JJ's cheek.

"Know what?"

"What it's like to kiss me again." Emily smiled as she studied JJ's face waiting for what the liaison was going to do now.

"Mhmm." Was all JJ managed to say, still trying to recover from the kiss. She had no idea a kiss can do so much damage to a person.

"Are you OK?" Emily asked, suddenly becoming a little worried, as JJ's breaths were still pretty shallow and she was looking directly into Emily's eyes.

"I wouldn't call that OK." JJ finally admitted. "It's about 100 steps up of OK." She said and smiled. That smile that Emily had admired so many times before, that smile that she could never get enough of.

"God, you're beautiful." Emily finally confessed, knowing that in a moment like this she could definitely afford a confession like that. And she was happy she could finally say it out loud.

"You're not so bad yourself." JJ told her as she placed another kiss on her lips, this time very soft and gentle, yet sending shivers through both their bodies. "You have no idea how hard I had to try not to get caught just staring at you when we were in the same room. Or how hard it was to focus on anything else when you would look at me with those eyes of yours."

"Actually," Emily interjected. "I think I might know a little something about that." She said as she took JJ's hand and lead her to the couch. She could feel that JJ was barely standing and if she had to be honest with herself, she also didn't feel that comfortable anymore.

Without saying a word, they sat down and JJ rested her head on Emily's shoulder. It wasn't the first time she had done that, but this time it felt so much different. There were so many more emotions inside of them, so many wonderful feelings, that it was hard for both of them to contain themselves.

Emily put her left arm around JJ and she took JJ's hand into her right hand. Again, it wasn't really the first time she had held JJ's hand, but this time there was so much more meaning behind it.

"So what do we do now?" JJ suddenly asked, scared about the prospect of having to face a new day after what had happened between them.

"I don't know." Emily sighed. "But I need you to know that it doesn't have to mean anything, OK?" Emily said, despite how much it would hurt her if JJ really decided that it was nothing. "We don't have to make a big deal out of this…" Emily's voice trailed off as she once again became a little scared that maybe JJ would decide that it was a mistake after all.

"Are you kidding me?" JJ cut her short. "Not make a big deal?" She looked at Emily, scared that maybe Emily didn't really feel all the things JJ felt during their kiss. "But it's a huge deal! Humongous even!" Emily couldn't help but smile at JJ's choice of words. "And it was amazing and wonderful and it made me feel things I've never felt before… So I want it to mean something! I don't wanna just forget about it… "She looked at Emily terrified to ask that last question, "Unless… Unless you wanna forget about it?"

"God, no!" Emily exclaimed. "You have no idea how long I have dreamt about kissing you like that and I never ever thought that it would be possible. I always knew you were straight and it never occurred to me that you might have any sort of sexual feelings for me."

"To be honest, I never thought so either." JJ smiled softly as she was trying to figure out what exactly it was that was happening to her. "Until I kissed you and my world just went completely nuts. I had no idea that you can have such strong feelings for someone. It totally took me by surprise." She recounted and looked at Emily who seemed to be a little worried about JJ's last statements. "But I like surprises." JJ added after a moment. "As a matter of fact, I love surprises." She finished as she shifted her position on the couch to be able to face Emily. She took Emily's face into her hands, "And this has been the best damn surprise of my life." She finished and before she knew it, Emily was kissing her again. The birds and bells and the stars came back and JJ knew that something that felt this amazing just had to be right. Expected or unexpected, it didn't really matter, JJ knew that the feelings she had for Emily were only getting stronger with every kiss and every touch from her.

***

Chapter 10

The next day was going to be a little awkward and both Emily and JJ knew it. Even though the previous night all they did was kiss, it was still a very huge step for both of them, and neither of them was too sure about how to act around the other. This was a completely new situation and they knew it was going to take some time to get used to it.

JJ saw Emily by the coffee machine and for a moment she hesitated whether to walk up to her. But it only took her a second to decide that she wasn't going to avoid Emily again. Not after what had happened between them the previous night.

"Hey." She began, her voice barely audible, but loud enough for Emily to hear. She turned around and her heart jumped a little when she saw JJ.

"Hi." Emily replied and realized how nervous JJ really was. "Is everything OK?" She asked concerned.

"I'm fine." JJ answered and for the first time in a while she really wasn't lying. "I'm just a little freaked out." She admitted, but before Emily could say anything, JJ added, "But good freaked out."

"Well, good." Emily smiled. "Because if you want for us to ignore last night or forget it, we can…"

Emily didn't finish as she felt JJ's lips on hers and the blonde's hand on her neck. She got lost in the kiss for a moment, until they broke apart, because after all they were in a work place and they didn't feel like getting caught before they even knew what exactly was going on between them.

"Does that answer your question?" JJ asked, hopeful that she managed to convince Emily that she had no intention of ever forgetting the most amazing kiss she had ever had. Emily was so unbelievably relieved that JJ didn't seem to be too that scared of her feelings anymore.

"I guess it does." Emily grinned, but looked at JJ still a little bit worried. "Are you sure you're OK with… this?" Emily inquired, although she herself was not really sure what 'this' meant.

"I'm still a little baffled at what exactly is happening and a little scared about how strong my feelings for you have become in such a short time, but I'm definitely OK. I don't… I don't want this to go away." She finally said wanting to make sure that Emily knew exactly where she stood on the issue. She had no intention of letting Emily go. Not after she had found out what it felt like to be kissed by Emily Prentiss. There was no away JJ was going to give that up.

"I don't want this to go away either." Emily smiled brushing her hand softly against JJ's. And she really didn't. She had managed to keep her feelings for JJ hidden for such a long time that now there was no way she would be able to bury them again. She was still a little worried that JJ was going to change her mind or have a real freakout, but Emily had decided to take whatever she can get from the blonde. It may not have been the smartest decision, God knows she had had her share of heartbreak falling for straight girls in the past, but it was different with JJ. With her, every single look, every single touch, every single kiss made her feel like she was on top of the world, and there was no way she was ever going to give it up. So come what may, for now she was going to take it slow with JJ and see where the road would lead them.

"Em, as much as I would love to just stay here and look at you all day long," JJ started after a while, "I do have some work to do. I still have some paperwork leftovers from yesterday plus a couple of new cases to go over."

"Yeah, it's not like I'm here on vacation either." Emily sighed. "So…" Emily began, but wasn't really sure where she was going with whatever she wanted to say.

"So, do you wanna come over after work?" JJ proposed, with her heart beating faster than it should when getting a cup of coffee before work. "You know, we'll hang out, you'll remind me again what it's like to kiss you?" She raised her eyebrows smiling and Emily almost fell over, her knees got so weak at the sight in front of her and the prospect of what was going to happen in the evening.

"I'd love to." Emily smiled and JJ sighed with relief. "Would 7pm be fine?"

"7 would be perfect." JJ agreed and looked around to make sure no one was watching them. Then she stole another little kiss from Emily and walked out, leaving Emily absolutely unable to concentrate on work for the next half an hour at least. She watched the blonde walk away and couldn't believe that this was really happening. The one woman she thought she could never have was now stealing kisses from her and looking at her like no one had ever looked at her before. And she knew it wasn't just friendship or affection. She wouldn't exactly call it love yet, either, but it was definitely something amazing and strong that made her very hopeful for the future.

Which is exactly how JJ felt about whatever it was that was starting between her and Emily. When she left Emily standing by the coffee machine in the morning, JJ could see how much Emily was looking forward to their evening together and truth be told, she was too. She couldn't remember the last time she was so anxious about something. She had dated her fair share of cute boys that made butterflies happen in her stomach, but nothing had prepared her for the way she felt around Emily. She had no idea that some of those feelings she had for the brunette even existed. And she had no idea how or why, but she knew that there was something absolutely amazing happening between her and Emily and she couldn't wait to find out what was in store for them.

But for now there was paperwork that needed to be done and hard as it was to concentrate on something other than Emily, JJ knew she had work to do. Besides, she knew that the sooner she was gonna do her job, the sooner she could go home to prepare for her date with Emily. Well, technically she didn't even know if this was a even a real date, but Emily was coming over and the hours couldn't pass fast enough for JJ.

***

Next part of Unexpected Discoveries.