BULLETS | JEMILY

a bad idea

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To love or have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life.

Victor Hugo - Les Miserables

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"Agent Prentiss." I answer the phone as JJ does the same. "What?" We both say at the same time. I stifle a laugh and try to remain serious. "Sorry. What was that?" I ask. "Emily, we wouldn't ask this of you two if it wasn't an emergency, but the situation is getting worse, and we need you to come down for this case. Is that going to be a problem?" I look at JJ who shrugs and I nod. "Okay, we can be there tomorrow." I reply. "Good, see you both tomorrow." We both end our calls and just sit in silence. Neither of us knows quite what to say. "Uh, well, I guess we should go." JJ breaks the silence. I nod and start the car. "Yeah, sorry about that. It was going so well up to then." I say as I take her home. "Oh, nonsense, that wasn't your fault. And anyway, it just means we need to have another one." She adds with a grin. My heart skips a beat. "Really? You want to go out again?" I ask in disbelief. She takes my right hand and squeezes. "Of course, silly, I had a great time." I can't stop smiling for the rest of the journey. 

Outside her house, I say I'll wait in the car, but she insists I come in. "Em, you can just borrow some of my stuff." I contemplate the offer but she's already pulling me by the hand. "Fine, but don't you think this is going to be a little hard to hide from a group of profilers?" I call as she disappears upstairs. For someone who just got off crutches, she moves pretty fast. "Well, we can try." She replies with mystery in her voice. Her bedroom is beautiful. She's got some boxes stacked up in the corner, which I presume is Will's stuff, but her walls are decorated with photographs and butterflies. She grabs black jeans and a red shirt. "Here, this looks like your style." She says and then picks out her own clothes. "Why the butterflies, JJ?" I ask as I undress. She has her back to me. "Oh, I used to collect butterflies when I was a little girl. I had this dream of becoming some sort of vet or something for a while, but we were never a rich family, and I had to focus on soccer if I wanted to go to a decent college." She explains. She puts on a grey sweater and black pants and grabs her jacket. Despite not facing me, I can see the faint scar that snakes its way across her abdomen to her side. I can't help feeling guilty all over again. "So, do you know what the case is about?" She asks as we climb back into my car. I shake my head. "Nope, not a clue. All they said was it's an emergency." "Yeah, me too. But I can't lie, I have been getting bored with no work to do at home. I wasn't even allowed to consult." JJ says with a childish tone. She pouts and I laugh. God, why is she so cute? "Well, don't you over-do it now, I don't want you back in hospital after one case." I pretend to scold her but we both just end up giggling. "I won't, you have my word." She grins but winks and then faces out the window. There's just something about her, something that I haven't felt with anyone else, ever, even Laura. She's so amazing, but she's also herself. She's been open and honest ever since I met her, which is more than I can say about most of my exes, and I always feel relaxed around her. I just don't want this to end too soon, but I also know that the longer it goes on, the worse it will get because of the fraternisation rules. I know that if I want to stay, it can't go on forever. But I want to, oh how I want it to.

We catch the first flight out and JJ spends the majority of the flight asleep. I turn my head to watch her, but soon end up falling asleep as well. When I wake up, she's already reading something on her tablet. "Hey, they sent us the file to read." She hands me her tablet and excuses herself to the bathroom. I already have a bad feeling about this case. A serial killer targetting couples in their homes? That's not anything new, but he's already killed six couples in the past two weeks. And we haven't been able to catch him yet? What could JJ and I possibly contribute that the rest of the team wouldn't have figured out already. I really don't know. "Hey." JJ's soft voice interrupts my thoughts. "Hey." I say back. This time, she can tell that something is on my mind. She can read me like a book, even when I try and hide my thoughts. "What's on your mind?" She asks me as she sits back down. "What are you talking about?" I pretend not to know. "Come on, Em, you have a tell. But I won't say what it is, or you'll stop doing it. So, spill." She stares into my eyes with her baby blues and I can't resist a smile. "Oh, stop it, JJ. It's nothing, really. It's just, they said it was an emergency, but they've already been on the case for four days. What could they need our help for?" She shrugs. "I have no idea. I'm just hoping my legs hold up because I didn't bring my crutches." It's intended as a joke, but I can't help but worry at the same time. "Are you sure you're alright? We can tell Hotch if..." She cuts me off. "I'm fine, Em. Really." She says firmly and I drop it. I still want to keep an eye on her, though.

When we arrive at the station, the rest of the team is already waiting. They all have serious, stern expressions and I immediately know that something is up. "Hi, guys, what's going on?" JJ asks when we approach. Hotch opens the case file and lets out a small sigh. "We've profiled the killer as a man in his mid to late thirties, targetting couples that remind him of his own failed marriage. He's organised, but also devolving and become sloppier and sloppier, and we think he's going to make a mistake sooner or later." "Uh huh, so what did you need us here for?" I ask. "The unsub's going to be watching the investigation. He knows all of us by now, but he doesn't know you two." Rossi explains. We look at each other and then I look back at Rossi. "What are you saying?" "We'd like to set up a trap for the unsub, but we need you two to do it." Hotch confirms my suspicions. "No. Absolutely not. JJ's still in recovery." I protest immediately. JJ tugs at my arm but I ignore her. "There has to be another way around it." "We've tried everything, Garcia can't narrow down the suspect pool any more, and we know that he's out there right now, hunting for a new target. We can get this guy." Morgan adds. "Em, let's just talk about it for a minute." JJ whispers. "Excuse us." I say and we head to an empty room, which I presume is used for storage. It's small and cramped, and I can feel her warm breath on my skin. "JJ, you can't." "Emily, I'm fine. We have to catch this guy, he's killed twelve people already." "Yeah, and what if he hurts you?" She thinks for a minute. "Well, he won't because I'll have you. Come on, this could be the only chance we have to catch him. And Spence has probably done all the math on the probability of success and all that." "I know, it's just, I got you shot last time and I don't want to do that again." I admit and she holds my hands tightly. "For the last time, that wasn't your fault. You made the best decision, he could have strangled me to death instead. He's in prison, and we're here, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Now, let's go and catch this killer." Well, gotta give the woman credit on a great pep talk. "Fine. But I mean it, be careful." I raise an eyebrow. "I promise." She grins and I relax once more. "You were varsity captain, right?" I ask as we head back to the team. She nods. "That's where the fighting talk comes from." I joke and she punches me playfully. "Don't you know it." "Well?" Hotch asks. "We'll do it." We say at the same time.