Mistakes

Chapter 15

*Narrators POV*

It was about 11:00 p.m. by the time the team had arrived in Davenport Iowa, where their case was. Delays on the jet and refueling caused the flight to be longer than normal. When they arrived at the police station, there weren't many officers there. The chief of police told them they should get some sleep because the unsub had a long cooling of period, so they headed to a hotel. There was one directly across the street from the police station, so Hotch checked everyone in. JJ and Kate were sharing a room, Reid was with Morgan, and Rossi and Hotch were together. This was how it normally was when they went on a case. Anyways, when they got to their rooms, Rossi, JJ, Kate, and Hotch fell asleep immediately. Reid and Morgan were the only ones still up, but after Reid finished reading his book on quantum physics, he was out. That left Morgan as the only one awake. Although he was exhausted, he just couldn't seem to get his eyes to stay shut. He decided to call Garcia, who didn't get a chance to go on the case with them. "Hey Baby Girl," Morgan said as he heard her end of the line pick up. "Derek, this better be good, because you just awoke me from a nap I was taking in my office," Garcia snarled at him. It was about 3 a.m. at Quantico and Garcia had accidentally fallen asleep in her office. "Your still at Quantico? What time is it there?" He asked her quietly, trying not to awake Reid, who was sleeping in the bed next to him. "It's time for me to go to bed. What do you want?" she said groggily. "Well I just wanted to see how my baby girl was doing. I couldn't sleep and needed to talk to my sugar momma," he said through the phone while chuckling "Seriously Derek? I need my sleep, don't interrupt it. Goodbye," she said to him, about to hang up. "Wait!" He said quickly. "What? I'm tired, I need to get my sleep," she said slowly. "I do need to ask you something. It's about JJ," he said. JJ had been acting really weird today around Derek, and he just wanted to make sure things were going alright with her. "Ugh, listen don't bother JJ. She has a lot going on right now and she doesn't need you to complicate it, got it?" she told him. Tha last thing Garcia needed was for Morgan to get involved in the JJ-Reid mess. "She's been acting really strange today. Are you sure I can't help her with whatever's going on, because she's my friend and I just want to help her," he insisted. "No, Derek, just don't get involved, okay? It's more complicated than you think. I really need to go back to sleep now, so goodnight," Garcia said, hanging up the phone. She seemed really tired, so Derek let her get some rest and finally tried to fall asleep again. After a couple minutes, he felt himself drift away into a deep sleep.
*
Reid stirred in his bed, thinking about the conversation he had just overheard Morgan have with Garcia. Derek thought that Reid had fallen asleep, but he was wide awake and listening to their conversation. He wanted to tell Derek to shut up and go to bed, but he was really intrigued with the conversation he was having. What the hell is going on with JJ, he wondered. First I find out she has feelings for ME, and now she's having problems and no one to help her deal with them? He thought to himself. He had to talk to her, he had to confront her. He wanted to talk to her, not just about what Garcia had told him earlier that morning, but also about what Garcia was talking about with Derek. That could wait for tomorrow, though. For now, he needed as much sleep as possible.
*
Reid awoke naturally to the sunlight gazing through he hotel room window. It was only 5 in the morning, but he was still awake. Morgan wasn't, though, so he wanted to take advantage of the shower. When he was finished, he got dressed quickly and decided to go downstairs to the lobby to get some coffee. Reid walked down the hallway and into the elevator. He pressed he "L" button, and the doors started to close. Before they had a chance to close, a voice called "Hold the elevator!" It was a woman's voice, a voice he recognized. He could hear her footsteps as she ran down the hallway towards the elevator. He pressed the "doors open" button quickly, just as she had arrived at the elevator. She stepped in, and Reid was right: it was JJ. "Oh, hey Spence," she said shyly. "Hey. Your, uh, up early," he said back to her. "Yeah, I had a hard time sleeping," JJ responded. She kept shifting her weight uncomfortably on each foot. Only 6 more floors til they were at the lobby, and Reid needed to talk to her about what he had overheard last night. "So, uh, Garcia said you were having a hard time lately. She said things were- complicated... Are you alright?" he asked as he turned to look at her. She still wasn't looking at him, though. She wasn't really ready to talk to him yet about the situation with Henry, but she wanted to give it a try and talk to him about something else. She was going to have to talk to him sooner or later, so why not now? "Hmmmm, what else did Garcia say?" She asked him, staring straight ahead at the elevator doors. Just 5 more floors til the lobby. "Well, um, you see- this part- it's a little ridiculous," he paused for a second, a smile on his face. "She thinks- that, well, uh-" he stuttered. He couldn't find the words to say it. "She told me you had feelings for me," he said to her while laughing a bit. Now that he said it out loud, it did seem a little ridiculous that HER, Jennifer Jareau, had feelings for him. JJ seemed embarrassed when he said that. She finally turned to look at him and tried to laugh it off. "What? Pffftt, no," she hesitated. "I think Penelope's just playing with you," she told him. Only 3 more floors til the lobby. "I know, that's what I thought. Plus, your married," Reid said while motioning down towards her ring. But wait... She wasn't wearing it. "Wait, what? Where's your ring? Is everything alright between you and Will?" He questioned. She sighed deeply at the thought of this. She didn't want to talk about Will now, anything other than Will. "No, no, no, everything's fine with me and Will. I'm fine," she insisted. Talking about Will made her nervous, and she started to shift her weight between her legs again. She also started to fiddle with her hands, and Reid was noticing. "JJ, you say 'I'm fine' way too much. I know your not really fine, you just say it anyway," he told her. "No, really, it's nothing," she lied. He didn't want to try and pursue this anymore, so he just let it go. 1 more floor til they were at the lobby. "So, can I buy you some coffee?" He asked her quietly. Reid had finally gained to the confidence to ask JJ on another "date." Well, date-ish. JJ decided to give it a shot. What harm could it do? "Okay, I think I'd like that," she said as the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened, and they stepped out of the elevator together. JJ was glad that she got through that terrifying elevator ride with him, and it actually wasn't that terrifying at all. It's not like he knew about their one night stand from years ago, so they weren't going to be forced to talk about it anytime soon, unless Garcia got involved, of course. She was glad she got a chance to hang out with him. They walked to the coffee cart together, and he payed for her coffee and a croissant. He sat her down at her table and got her chair for her, like a real gentleman, and they just talked. They talked and they laughed and they had a good time. They got so caught up on their "date" that they didn't even keep track of time. An hour later, the team comes downstairs to find them having coffee together in the lobby. Then, the fun had to end because it's time for them to catch an unsub.