Serendipity

chapter 12

TW: Only a brief mention of homophobia. Further it’s just fluffy goodness.

Isabella opened the door for JJ an hour later, Chinese take-out in hand. She took the bags, hugged her and thanked her for sending the police officer to pick her up. “You’re welcome. Emily would have murdered me if I had let something happen to you.” she said with a smile. “I highly doubt that.” Isabella countered.

She let JJ in just as Emily emerged from the bathroom, “Hi, Jen.” Emily kissed JJ on the cheek, stunning the blond agent. Isabella looked on in amusement. “She knows. Actually, everyone knows. They just decided to not tell us.” Isabella was pleased to hear Emily sounding a bit calmer about their not-so-secret being out. It must have something to do with the wine. JJ looked at Isabella with wide eyes. “Yeah, I figured it out on my second day. The others have known pretty much since the beginning.” “For once, they decided to stay out of our personal business.”  Emily added, taking JJ by the hand and leading her into the apartment. “But you didn’t?” JJ directed at Isabella. Isabella shrugged, cheeks flushed from the alcohol in her system. “Well, I figured now, since I came from her…personal business…I get to say something.”

JJ eyed the contents of the coffee table, there were two wine glasses, one empty bottle, and one bottle just under half. “How much have you two had to drink?” she raised an eyebrow. “Enough, I think. I was just going to make coffee. Do you want some?” Isabella offered, placing the take out on the table and picking the bottles and glasses up to take to the kitchen. “Yes, please.” She heard JJ answer. She was feeling a whole lot better than she had that afternoon. She put the kettle on, gathered cups from the cupboard and placed them on the counter. She could hear Emily and JJ talking in hushed voices in the other room, it filled her heart with joy. She’d had them over for dinner before, but it felt different now. She and Emily still had loads of things to work through, but with the air mostly clear, she was looking forward to life without the bottled up emotions she had been ignoring the past year. She wasn’t looking for a replacement mother, her mother was the best mother she could ever have hoped for, but Emily was family nonetheless, and she was happy to have her.

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JJ had been trying to watch TV since she got home after dropping Emily off. ‘Trying’ being the operative word. She couldn’t focus, her mind was with Emily and Isabella. Were they talking? Were they fighting? Were they going to be okay? She knew the two women had to talk, but at the same time, she was scared about what would happen if it didn’t go well. Would one of them have to leave? Choose to leave? She couldn’t imagine how it would affect either of them in the long run, and she really didn’t want them to get hurt any more than they already had. Of course, Emily was her priority, but she had grown fond of the red haired girl. Regardless, Emily and Isabella were connected in this, if one got hurt, so would the other; It made JJ anxious. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before her phone rang; she jumped when she saw Emily’s face on the screen. “Em! How’d it do? Are you okay?” She heard her girlfriend sigh on the other end of the line, it worried her for a moment. “Yeah! We’re great. Isabella said to invite you over for dinner.” JJ calmed somewhat, she wouldn’t be inviting her over if the conversation had gone badly. “Uh, sure.”. “Awesome, how does Chinese sound?” Emily asked, both to her and to her companion on the other side. She heard Isabella excitedly answer yes. “That sounds great. Should I pick it up on the way over?” “Yes please, we’ll call ahead.”

JJ was taken aback when Emily kissed her in front of Isabella. They had been keeping their relationship a secret for two years, so the sudden open display of affection was unusual. Upon learning that Isabella, and the rest of their team, had figured it out all by themselves, she was simultaneously terrified and relieved. She realised quickly though, that she wasn’t really surprised that they knew; only that they had managed to not pester them about it for all that time. Isabella went to the kitchen to make coffee, leaving her alone with Emily. “I take it things went better than expected?” She half whispered to Emily, who had not yet let go of her hand. “It did. I’ll tell you all about it later, I promise.” She felt Emily squeeze her hand; the unabashed happiness in her eyes made JJ’s heart swell. She hadn’t seen much of that in the past year. She just couldn’t stop herself from leaning in and claiming Emily’s lips in a searing kiss. She heard a coughing sound from behind them, and turned to find Isabella grinning widely at them. JJ felt a blush creeping up her face, getting caught kissing was not supposed to happen, least of all by a colleague, who also happened to be her girlfriend’s daughter. Emily didn’t seem to be too bothered, and Isabella looked like a cat that caught the canary. This was going to need some getting used to.