Try to See it My Way

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

A/N: This is a total AU fic. It has no correlation to the events of the show. I've tried to maintain the characters personalities and some of their histories too. I have taken creative liberty with their ages as well.

Okay moving on, this is going to be my first Emily/JJ fic and I'm super excited! They have always been my favourite pairing, but I never had an idea that would do them justice. Also Demily shippers, I'll still be working on my other stuff, I promise.

This will be multi-chaptered, but updates will be sporadic because of school. Let me know what you think and enjoy!

Chapter 1

"Come on Em!" The blonde Jennifer "JJ" Jareau whined, "You just gotta do it."

"No, it's not happening." The brunette stood her ground. She knew that JJ would keep pressuring her until she gave in; JJ had been that way since they were kids. The slim blonde had always been able to get Emily to do whatever she wanted.

JJ huffed, "You need to get out there Emily."

Emily Prentiss looked at her friend over the table and enunciated, "I Am Not a Cougar! Besides…"

The two friends had met up after work on Thursday for a light dinner. They stopped in at a quaint café that was situated between both their office buildings. Emily was working for the FBI; she was an agent of the Behavioural Analysis Unit. She had always had a gift with languages and reading people. Whereas JJ was all about people, its how she got her job as the Public Relations Specialist for a large corporation. She managed their advertising and marketing. And JJ defiantly had the face for it, she was beautiful.

The friends always tried to meet up for lunch at least once a week, but often had to reschedule due to Emily's erratic work hours. She was always busy. Swamped, even.

"Besides what?" JJ questioned because she was intrigued. When Emily failed to answer, she tried again, "Just one date?"

"No! First of all he looks like he is twenty! And also, he is not my type at all."

"Fine," JJ relented, and then curiously continued, "So…What's your type then? It seems no guys are 'your type,'" Emily's eyes widen slightly while trying to find a way to avoid answering JJ's question. The brunette was almost thankful when JJ changed topics, "Oh look, here comes Penelope."

"Wait, what?" Emily asked in surprise, as she whipped her head around to see a brightly dressed blonde entering the café from the cool January winter.

Emily turned back to glare at her best friend, "Sorry I didn't tell you…I invited Penelope Garcia from work. She came out with a few months ago, remember? And I told you about her outfits…you should see the graphic designs she comes up with, they're brilliant."

"Why Jayje?" Emily didn't mean to sound so pathetic, but she hardly got to see the blonde because of their jobs. Emily knew having another person join them meant that JJ's attention would probably be focused on the exuberant newcomer rather than slightly introverted agent.

"Pen wanted to hit the bar tonight, but I told her I was hanging out with my ubber-geeky best friend. So to compromise, we're all going out together!" JJ stated with a huge grin with the hopes that Emily will actually go out.

"JJ!" Emily practically whined in a hushed tone because the bubbly graphic designer was drawing nearer, "This is our thing, you can't- Hello Penelope, it's nice to see you again." Emily had been cut off from her rant as Penelope joined their table. This caused an immediate shift in Emily's demeanour. She had never done well with meeting people, especially those she was unfamiliar with.

The brunette preferred to remain detached because people always ended up disappointing you or at least that's what Emily learnt growing up in a political family. You allow someone to get close and then they hurt you, by letting you down, lying or not sticking with you when you needed them the most. As an Ambassador's daughter Emily was used to being let down. So as a child Emily was conditioned from the start to not open herself up to anyone. The only two people who ever really saw the true Emily Prentiss were JJ and Derek.

As soon as Penelope had settled in at the table, she and JJ began to discuss everything all at once. They were covering all topics at once from work to fashion to men. This allowed Emily to zone out for a bit.

"Em!"

"Huh?" Emily was pulled from her reverie. "Sorry."

JJ rolled her eyes at her hopeless friend, "Which bar to you want to go to?"

"It's Thursday, and I have to work tomorrow. I really don't care, Jayje."

Penelope perked up, "Oh. How about we go to…"

Emily once again stopped listening to the two blondes, and just went through the motions of paying for her meal, grabbing her jacket and jumping in the taxi. She maintained the look of being part of their group, but knew that she didn't fit in with the two enthusiastic women.

Emily looked down at her attire. She had come straight from work to the café and still had her professional wear on; at least if she removed her jacket she would look semi causal. Penelope on the other hand was in a bright red dress with beads and sparkles. And JJ had her work clothes on too, but no one could deny that the blonde looked stunning in her skirt and teal blouse.

The taxi that the three women had hopped into pulled up in front one of the local bars. Emily quickly whipped out her phone and texted the address and name of the bar to the person she texted most: Derek Morgan; also known as her other best friend. Hopefully he could come join her.

The girls quickly hurried inside the bar, the frigid cold from the January night nipping at their skin. After they were seated at a table, Emily heard Penelope ask JJ how she had met the brunette. This caused her to shake her head, for two reasons. The first being she knew this story by heart, the second because she could hear the questioning tone Garcia used, almost to say, "Why are you friends with her?"

Emily had always had a hard time fitting in, especially in high school. It had improved in her adult life, but she sometimes still felt like she didn't quite belong.

xXx

In rural Pennsylvania, Emily and JJ had met in elementary school, and had become immediate friends. They remained that way, practically attached at the hip until Grade four.

That was the year Emily's mother took an Ambassador position in the Middle East and Emily moved. The two best friends were separated. They spent seven years apart, but had kept in touch with each other through letter, postcards and phone calls. JJ had got along just fine on her own, but it was Emily that had a hard time making new friends.

When Emily turned sixteen she was sent back to the USA by her mother, from their current posting in Rome. Emily had really needed a change of scenery because she had found herself in more than one compromising situation. So, she was sent to live with her Aunt back in Pennsylvania.

This meant that they could both experience their last high school years together, except that wasn't exactly how it all worked out.

JJ changed while they were apart and had put her heart into soccer; she was the face of the school. She was most popular, everyone's dream girl. While not being overly small, she was petit, with long blonde hair and big expressive blue eyes. Everyone wanted to be as beautiful as JJ, as good at soccer as JJ; she was all anyone in East Allegany, Pennsylvania talked about.

Then there was Emily. The ugly-duckling, she liked to call herself. She was tall for her age and awkward. Unlike her friend her skills were not with sports rather academics. The nerd. You could always find her with her nose in a book.

Everyone loved JJ for her charm, smile and kindness. Whereas, Emily was the kid the parents didn't want their children to befriend. Emily was withdrawn, sullen and often considered rebellious by teachers. Many folks in town often questioned JJ about why she hung out with the dweeb but being friends seemed to solidify something within them, and they had a friendship that could not be broken.

When University came along, JJ and Emily went on their separate ways but this time on their own terms. They managed to keep in touch and see each other almost every second weekend. And Emily finally grew into herself. She attended Yale, where she got in on her own merit; it gave her a chance to explore her own interest rather than her mother's. Before when she had been ridiculed for being different she now found people that liked her. She no longer felt bad about herself because she preferred women, when before she was often felt like she was wrong. Although she had accepted it herself she had yet to come out.

She became a beautiful young woman and left her gothic style behind in high school. No one from Emily's past would have even recognized her. She studied psychology and criminology with dreams of entering the FBI.

JJ did pretty well for herself too; she got a full ride scholarship to Penn State to play soccer. She managed to get her degree in communications and even did a few courses that involved acting.

Luckily for the two girls who shared everything, travel between their two Universities wasn't all that difficult. They managed to hang out as much as their busy schedules allowed.

xXx

Emily felt her phone vibrate, it was Derek. "Be there soon."

She was so glad that he was able to join this outing. She had met Derek in the FBI Academy right on their first day. They immediately hit it off; something about their personalities just seemed to mesh. Derek was the only person who knew that Emily was gay, and he would often joke that if she was straight they would have been married by now.

Emily had introduced JJ to Derek only a week after she had met him and he instantly became her friend too. Although, Emily was the only thing JJ and Derek really had in common, the three of them would often meet up.

JJ and Penelope were still talking about who knows what, when Emily's phone vibrated again, "Here."

Emily's head immediately swivelled and she was met face to face with the dark man. He had arrived.

"Hey! I'm so glad you're here," then in a quieter voice, "the giggle sisters over there have been excluding me from their girlie talk."

"Never fear Princess, Derek Morgan is here!"

"That's so very chivalrous of you," Emily responded her comment laced with sarcasm.

Derek pulled up a chair, which caused JJ and Penelope's conversation to come to a halt.

"Derek! What are you doing here?" JJ asked surprised but at the same time not startled to see her friend.

"I was just in the area, and saw three gorgeous ladies all alone…thought they needed some loving."

JJ rolled her eye, "Yeah right, Em texted you didn't she?"

An ever so slight blush appeared on Emily's cheeks, but it was dark enough in the bar that the others didn't seem to notice. JJ had always known her so well.

Derek ignored JJ's question and turned to Penelope, "I don't believe we've met. I always remember a beautiful face."

"Well aren't you a handsome devil!" Penelope practically shrieked. She then turned to JJ, "how come you never told me you knew a living, breathing Adonis?"

JJ just waved her hand, "It never crossed my mind."

Emily had to laugh at her friends; Derek had always been good looking. She always believed that Derek and JJ were going to get together, because beautiful people married other beautiful people. Emily ribbed Derek, "He's really not that attractive, you should see him in the mornings after a long case, you'd run for the hills."

"What? Woman, are you purposely trying to hurt me? A fellow agent?" Derek pretended to be insulted as put his hand over his heart.

"No never!" Emily laughed; she knew having Derek with her would lift her mood.

"Oh, Derek, you also work for the FBI?" Penelope was impressed.

"That's right Baby Girl, me and Em here are partners. We've been together since day one at the academy."

"Together?" Penelope had a gleam in her eye.

At exactly the same time, JJ and Emily replied, "NO!" While Derek smirked and said, "Only in her dreams."

"Ewww, he's like my brother," Emily scrunched up her nose.

JJ merely blushed at her own forceful outburst, and looked away from the table members to regain her composure.

"Sadly, I'm not Emily's type," Derek added.

"Not her type?" Penelope was shocked.

"Like I said that's my brother, and he's too much of a flirt." To prove her point Emily gave Derek a light shove and then he pushed her back harder. This continued until…

"Hey! Guys were in public," JJ calmed the group down, she placed her hands on the table, "Let's get another round-"

Penelope immediately cut her off, "Wait a second! What the hell is that?"

A/N: Sorry, this chapter was getting long, so I guess you'll have to read the next part to find out what Garcia's referring to. Let me know if want me to continue.