Charity Work

Spoiler: S02E18 Jones

Pairing: Emily/JJ, slight JJ/Will

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Criminal Minds or any of its contents.

Author's note: All mistakes are mine, as even though i'm back from vacation, my beta is still enjoying the wonders of it.

"…Houston, New Orleans…" The brunette contemplated as she waited for the blonde to arrange the latest case's files. They were the only ones left in the conference room as the rest of the team got ready to get the plane. "And I thought I traveled a lot when I was a kid".

"Sounding a bit regretful there, Agent Prentiss" The blond pointed out. She leaned over the table, watching as her friend, not surprisingly, spaced out. She couldn't precisely point out when it happened, but at some point they developed the habit of waiting for each other after briefings. Like the Friday's night out and the Monday's coffee, it came like a natural progression to their developing friendship.

"Oh no no…not at all" Emily said hastily when she finally registered what the blond had said. Once again her thoughts had drifted to not-so-happy places. Ever since she joined the profiling team it had been harder than unusual not to be affect by each case. There was no amount of studying that could have prepared her. Yet, she hadn't lied. She didn't regret it. She didn't regret it at all. No matter what dark images had come to haunt her mind, the mere thought of the blond press liaison that stood across the table could help put them away.

"This…It's my dream job" Emily said, even if it was far from being the only reason for her lack of regret. JJ smiled in response, unsurprised by the answer, picking up the files, ready to leave the room. Ever so slowly that smile acquired a suggestive quality before she asked "So it's just the job?"

Just like the blond expected Emily was startled by her obvious flirt. She winked and left the room with a permanent smile on her face, leaving behind a speechless dark-haired agent. To say she didn't know why she liked to tease Prentiss would be flat out lie. Even though she loved the brunette's sexy voice, there was nothing more endearing than the brunette's face when rendered speechless.

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The agents kept themselves busy as the plane made its way to New Orleans. Reid and Morgan talked whilst the others analyzed the cases' files. In a brief moment in which the brunette female agent took a break she couldn't help but listen to a part of the men's conversation.

"He probably just couldn't take the heat" Emily joked, smiling at the genius.

"It's not really for us to judge, is it?" Reid snapped, catching by surprise the other two agents.

"Right…My bad" The brunette female mumbled apologetically.

Morgan wanted to say something. Reid's rudeness was uncalled for. Prentiss was still new, but she certainly deserved better than that. JJ's voice brought them all to business, and Emily's usual mask of indifference back. However, there was a brief look on her face that told him that Reid's attitude had stung.

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The first times it happened she'd tell the blond woman that there was no need to wait for her, even if she always did it when it was the other way around. Soon she gave up, having a taste of just how stubborn the blond woman could be. Once again, they were left behind, this time on the plane, as Emily took her time putting the rest of her files in the bag.

"Sorry for my bluntness but…What's the problem with your ex…whatever?" The brunette asked, flipping her hand.

JJ stared at her, looking a bit confused. When she finally understood who the brunette was talking about, she couldn't stop an amused smile from showing up on her face. "My… What?"

"Yeah…you know…Reid. He's been acting all…" Emily stammered a bit, waiting until she was certain the blush on her face was gone so she could turn to her colleague.

"Reid is not my ex…whatever" The blond chuckled "Redskins game. He had tickets." She continued like it was the most natural thing. "I would hardly call it a date"

"Aww…No smooches? I'm disappointed" Emily teased, attempting to hide her relief. When Morgan mentioned that the media liaison and the genius boy had once gone out on a date, she feeling a bit jealous was almost inevitable. The jealousy went away as she became sure that there was nothing between them anymore. Then all that was left was a bit of envy. She finally understood why nothing came out of that, Reid couldn't have chosen a worst place for a date with the blond. She had been to a Redskins' game with Miss Jareau and, to make it short, hadn't she run after the blond she'd have had to call a cab.

"Nope. He's not my type" JJ replied, knowing fully-well where that was going.

"And what would that be?" Emily asked, before smacking herself internally, seeing the growing smirk on her friend's face "I just right walk into those, don't I?"

JJ's smile got even larger, but before she could reply that her phone rang. She looked at the other woman apologetically before answering her phone, already on agent mode. "Jareau. Me? Yes, sir. No problems, I'll let her know" Emily looked at her expectantly as she closed the phone "I'm hitting the crime scene. Hotch asked you to meet with…" The blond suddenly looked worried "…Reid at the morgue. Is it gonna be ok?"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry. I can handle it." The brunette reassured her with a smile before closing the bag.

"I'm sure you can, Em. Come on, I'll drop you by the morgue." The blond took the keys out of her pocket and showed the other female.

"You're driving? I think I'll risk calling a cab" Emily teased, getting herself a slap on the arm from the blond.

"We were late. You're alive. Get over it" JJ grinned as they left the airplane.

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The ride to the morgue wasn't long, or at least it didn't feel like it for the two women. Caught up on their usual banter since they left the airplane, the time went by in haste. To Emily it was way too soon when the blonde turned off the car and turned to look at her.

"Hey. We're gonna talk about it later, ok?" Emily was caught a bit of guard by the caring in JJ's tone but before she could start saying there was no need JJ continued "That was rhetorical. We are going to talk about it. Now out"

"Bossy" The brunette mumbled jokingly. Laughing as she was shooed out of the car.

"You have no idea" The blond shouted before taking off. Leaving a stunned brunette, rubbing the back of her head on the sidewalk, thinking "Yeah, I do walk right into those"

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It wasn't long past midnight when Morgan walked out of the police station, to find two quiet agents leaning on the car he was supposed to drive. It was almost comic the way Reid looked everywhere except at Prentiss, who looked as calm as ever, but he could feel she wasn't in her best mood as well.

"Hey kids" Morgan greeted, receiving glares from both agents. He opened the car and tried not to laugh at the barely noticeable power battle going on the other side for the front seat. Surprisingly, this time, the brunette female didn't back down; and bearing a terrifying glare, enough to scare even Morgan, she took her place in the front seat. Reid sat in the back, his annoyance emanating.

"This is gonna be fun" Derek said as he took off. Not bearing the absolute silence from the passengers he turned on the radio. The radio was the only the only sound in the car the trip to the hotel. He had barely stopped in front of the building when the two jumped off the car. He accompanied Reid to the back of the car, but Prentiss stood in front of the building, one hand on her forehead.

"Hey Emily" Morgan shouted to get her attention "What's wrong?"

"My bag. I left it in JJ's car." She replied before opening her phone.

"She said she was gonna go over some things with Hotch and the lead detective. She shouldn't take long"

"You're right…" She closed her phone and waited for the guys to get their bags to go inside. Morgan got the keys for his and Reid's room and the dark-haired woman got the one for the room she'd share with JJ. Deciding there was no point going to the room now she also asked the directions to the restaurant.

The guys didn't take long to find their room and get acquainted. So many times going from one hotel to another, they had already gotten used to the impersonal space. The dark agent picked up a folder from inside his bag and threw the container besides one of the beds. He stood at the doorway, watching as the genius organized his belongings methodically. He wanted to say something, try to reach out once more, but he knew that wasn't the time. He tried before, now he'd wait for the young man to come to him.

"I'm gonna find Prentiss. Do you wanna come?"

"No, not at all. I'd rather stay and get some rest." Just like the question was more for politeness reasons, the reply was automatic. Even if he was tired, Morgan was certain that wasn't the only reason for him not to go. It was noticeable the way he'd been avoiding Emily as much as he could without being unprofessional. He nodded in acknowledgement and left the room. It didn't take him long to find her. She looked tired as she drank from her dark colored beverage and continued to write on a napkin on the hotel's restaurant table.

"Do you ever stop?"

"I sleep once every couple of years" she joked and pointed at the chair across the table, in which he unceremoniously sat. "So why aren't you in your room? No offense, but you look like you could use a bed"

"I can say the same about you…no offense, of course." She chuckled lightly "What are you working on?"

"It's just… this thing about Jack, the ripper. Those letters… I don't know. There's something bugging me. And without my case…" Prentiss smiled brightly as her friend put the cases' files on top of the table. "I hate having to inflate your ego, but I love you!" Morgan laughed at the way the brunette snitched the files like it were the last candy bars in the store.

It was over an hour later that the team's press liaison silently walked into the brightly lit room. She found the two agents talking animatedly, what looked like the case's files scattered amidst a couple of beer bottles. From the loud laughter she'd guess it's been some time since they last talked about the case. And Morgan's smile seemed to grow when he spotted the blond woman walking in. He whispered something to the brunette and laughed loudly as she spilt her drink. Emily took a few deep breaths before turning.

"He drank it all…really…" JJ laughed at the look on the brunette's face and the way she seemed to drag each word. She probably wasn't lying…much. She wasn't drunk but she was definitely sleepy, and a sleepy Emily could be much worse than a drunken Emily.

"I'm sure he did, honey" If the two women didn't notice the endearment word, Morgan surely did, but chose not bring it up…for the meantime. Ever since he started to hang out more with the girls, especially with Prentiss, he noticed. Though, he could guess it was obvious even to those who didn't spend much time with the two females. It was in their eyes. It gave them away every time, more than any endearment word.

"You called." Jj stated.

"I did? Oh yeah I did"

"Missing me already?"

"More like missing my bags" The brunette joked back, laughing loudly at Morgan's over the top "Ouch" and JJ's fake hurt expression.

"But you could say I missed you too" JJ knew the dark-haired agent was joking, but something in her eyes told her it was not all joke. They smiled brightly at each other, almost forgetting Morgan's presence.

"Don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty beat. I'm heading to bed." He took one last drink of his beer, put all files back in the folder and got up "See ya in the morning, girls"

"Goodnight, Morgan" The girls said. Or at least Emily tried but was stopped by the unstoppable urge to yawn. "And that's where you should be heading"

"His bed?" She received a mocking glare from the blond.

"No, ou…your bed. Come on"

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They walked into the room in a comfortable silence. It was late and they wanted was a good shower and a comfy bed. Emily noticed her bag, already in place beside the further bed, like she left every time they were in a hotel room; and lied down on the blonde's bed, knowing that was the only way to make sure she would be woken up, in case she fell asleep.

"Thanks" JJ smiled in response and walked into the bathroom. She didn't take long, but surely enough the brunette was snoring, asleep on her bed. Without worrying about making noise, knowing the brunette was far from being a light sleeper, she finished getting ready to bed. It took her many failed attempts to find out how to wake up the older agent without making use of a bucket of water or freaking her out badly – saying her mother was looking for her had proven to be a really bad idea… effective, but not recommended. Then one day, by accident, she found a way. Since then, waking up the brunette agent became an almost effortless ordeal.

Making sure to leave the bathroom door open and the lights on, the blond put a bit of perfume on her hand and moved to the brunette's side. She slowly pulled the dark-hair out of the other woman's face and behind her ear. Fighting off the urge to just stay there beside the bed watching the brunette, she started to caress her nose, much like she'd do to a cat. It didn't take long for the brunette to stir. When she saw the smile creeping up on her face she stopped her movements. JJ chuckled when the brunette pushed her head forward, looking for contact.

"Not fair…"Emily mumbled.

"We can talk about how unfair it is when you're not making my bed stink" Emily groaned as she was pulled up by the blonde. JJ lied down on the bed and watched the other woman slowly walk to the bathroom, mumbling incoherent things. It still amazed her how adorable Emily was when sleepy.

Other than the loud "Dammit" exclaimed by the brunette when hit by the freezing cold water, the shower went smoothly. It gave JJ time enough to review some of the case files and write down some observations; all those things just an excuse so she can wait for the other woman to come out of the bathroom. Yes, denial came. And gone. Being attracted to anyone, especially a colleague, wasn't near her agenda. Yet, there came Emily Prentiss and captured her with each passing day. There was no love at first sight, no schoolgirl crush. Au contraire, nothing on the first moment she set eyes on the other agent indicated the growth of the feelings invading her body when the brunette walked out of the bathroom; towel wrapped around her wet body, messy dark hair clutching to her sleepy face.

No words were said as Emily slowly got dressed, under JJ's hardly sneaky eyes. If Emily noticed, she never said a thing or acted differently. In those post-shower sleepy moments of her, there was only one thing she'd say; and it's the one thing the blond waited all day to hear. In was in those moments, just as she lied down in bed and closed her eyes she she'd mumble "Bonne nuit, Jennifer"

"Yeap, still sexy" The blond muttered to herself, before turning off the lights and going back to bed.