Title: Waffles
Rating: PG
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Characters/Pairing: Emily, JJ – gen (kind of)
Genre: Friendship/Humor
Summary: Emily tries to explain why she hasn't called Mick.

…

'So,' JJ asked conversationally as they stepped off the jet. 'We've got a four day weekend – are you going to call Mick?'

Emily rolled her eyes. She'd been hoping to avoid this conversation – she wasn't particularly interested in explaining just why she didn't want to call Mick Rawson. Evidently, all the flaws she'd listed hadn't been enough – was her life really so pathetic that her friends insisted on setting her up with someone she had absolutely no interest in.

'No,' Emily said with finality. 'I am not going to call Mick. I am going to go home, and I am going to sleep, and then I will watch some T.V., and maybe read a book, but I am not going to call Mick.'

'You are impossible.' JJ shook her head.

Emily bit her lip, struggling exactly how to explain the situation. 'Have you ever been to IHOP, and then you suddenly realize you really don't want pancakes at all, you want waffles?'

'They serve waffles at IHOP, Em,' JJ frowned.

Emily shook her head. 'That's not the point. I mean, pancakes are great, but sometimes you don't really want the banana ones with maple and blueberries on the side, because as nice as it sounds, your stomach really isn't in the mood for it. And then maybe you think you might settle for chocolate chip, but really, you just want waffles with ice-cream.'

JJ had a look of confusion on her face. 'What does that have to do with anything?'

Emily gave a slight shrug – the metaphor had gotten away from her a little. 'Mick is a pancake. I don't want to settle for pancakes right now, I want to wait until I can find some waffles.'

'O…kay. So what's stopping you from going out to find some waffles?'

'Sometimes waffles are just too time consuming. But I might find the time for those mini-waffles that you can just leave a bowl of food out for, and they come to you when they want to be scratched.'

'Mini-waffles don't really do the trick, do they?' JJ asked, and Emily shook her head with a sigh. 'You want my advice?' JJ asked, and Emily figured that she was probably going to be getting the advice regardless. 'Make time for waffles. Find a waffle that isn't going to resent you for being away so often, and do your best to be with that waffle when you can. It's all you can do.'

Emily nodded, grabbing her go-bag and slinging it over her shoulder. Later, when they were in the parking garage of the FBI building, and Morgan asked them all about their plans, she had no qualms whatsoever in saying, 'Waffles.'