Sorry for the lateness. I've been completely demotivated to write anything so this chapter will be short and more of a filling. Sort of. Next one should be more lengthy :P

Thanks for the reviews :3

The Road Trip

4

Someone rang at the front door. Two heads raised at the same time, distracted by their game of poker.

"Are you expecting someone JJ?" asked a fair-haired boy with huge glasses as she lay down her cards face hidden. Jennifer Jareau, nicknamed 'JJ', bit her lower lip in wonder. Her parents were not supposed to come back until at least eight and she couldn't recall anyone saying they'd visit.

"I don't know Spence" she replied calmly, rising from her seat. She quickly glanced at her friend. "What time had Gideon said he'd come to pick you up?"

The twelve-year-old boy shrugged.

"Seven thirty, but it's barely six twenty-three. And had he been early, he would have called. And even if he was done earlier his plane does not land until seven anyway."

Jennifer couldn't hold back a soft smile. Jason Gideon, an FBI profiler, had adopted Spencer Reid, her neighbor and best friend. Because of his job, the man was often absent and she was hired to keep an eye on him. Not that she really minded, despite being six years younger than her, Spencer was already in his senior year of high-school, in her class and one of her best friends.

The bell rang again, almost insistent. Jennifer sighed and stood up.

"Whatever. Turn on the TV please, I'll see what this is about."

The boy frowned.

"You sure you want to answer?" Before she could answer, he added quickly: "Did you know that 57.4% of burglaries occurred during the day and 32 per cent were unlawful entries? And I know we live in a low-risk neighborhood but what if a maniac decides to strike?"

JJ rolled her eyes.

"You, my friend, have been reading Gideon's reports behind his back again, haven't you?"

Spencer shrugged, a little embarrassed, but stood up and turned the TV on. The blonde then headed towards the door as the bell rang a third time. JJ peeked through the peephole. On the other side, a man in his mid-thirties was shifting impatiently on his feet, glaring at his watch. He was dressed casually, faded blue jeans and black jacket. Unshaven cheeks gave him a bad boy kind of look, but it suited him well. The young woman kept the bolt on as she opened slowly.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

The man's expression turned into a frown and when he spoke, she immediately heard the heavy English accent.

"Sorry to bother you but I'm looking for Emily Prentiss. Any idea where she could be?"

JJ raised an eyebrow in surprise. She and Emily had met by pure chance through another friend, hit it off right away, and since then had been best buddies. Because of Emily's mother's job, the teenager was often away, but that didn't stop their friendship; skype, msn and twitter had been useful tools to maintain, even solidify, it. And during their numerous chats, the brunette had mentioned the latest 'spy' her mother had hired to keep a close eye on her. And if she wasn't mistaken...

"Who are you?" she asked, suspecting the answer. The man sighed impatiently:

"My name is Clyde Easter, I'm her...bodyguard." He pronounced the word with such cynicism she almost smirked.

"I've heard about you" JJ simply replied and shrugged. "But sorry, I haven't seen her. Since when has she been on the loose?"

Clyde's frown deepened, as if feeling she knew more than she was letting on.

"I know from a reliable source she is supposed to pick you up for some road trip. But it is important that she does not undergo any stress or get herself into trouble. If I don't hear a word from her before tomorrow night, I will take extreme measures. Make sure she understands that." He started to turn away, but then stopped and looked at her straight in the eye one last time: "She's a good kid. In any other circumstances I would have trusted her, but tell her I don't wish to bring her back in a body bag."

He left on those words, hands in his pocket and a hint of anger in his walk. JJ stood there, bit little taken aback. What did he mean, back in a body bag? Was Emily in some sort of trouble? She would have told her if it was the case, right? She was tempted to ask the man for more details, but...

"JJ, who was it?"

The young woman realized she had been staring longer than necessary at the now empty space behind the door. She slowly closed it and turned back to face him. Spencer had that little air, slightly guilty-like, and she knew he had been eavesdropping. No need to worry him, though, she thought, and brushed his question away by telling him it was nothing important. She did excuse herself to go to the bathroom though, pulled out her cell phone, and dialed a familiar number.

-RT-

Emily was still fuming when she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She picked up without checking the ID.

"What?"

"Well good evening to you too."

The brunette closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Sorry JJ" she muttered. "I just got had a little misunderstanding with some nosy woman."

On the other side of the line, the blonde chuckled.

"I suppose your boyfriend's friend saw through your act?"

Emily rolled her eyes.

"Aaron is not my boyfriend and I wasn't planning to change that." She insisted heavily and JJ snorted, knowing her friend sometimes wished he were. "Okay, not yet. Anyway, what's up?"

The blonde sighed and tackled the reason of her call.

"I got an interesting visit from your babysitter." Emily blinked in surprise:

"Clyde? What did he want?"

"To know where you are for starters." JJ paused. "Is there any reason why he looked so worked up?"

The brunette shut her eyes and sighed.

"He's just worried; it's his job to keep tabs on me. Don't get all worked up because of that."

"He used the words 'body bag'. Excuse me for being 'worked up'."

"Listen, it's nothing, really. I'll send him a text and he won't bother you anymore. How are you?"

"I will ignore the fact you are trying to change subject and answer 'fine'." Emily winced, knowing her friend was a tidbit annoyed with her. "You'll still be there in a few days?"

"Yeah, if Miss Lollipop doesn't open her mouth too much. In that case, I might have to take a detour to hide her body."

JJ chuckled and said her goodbyes. Emily hung up and was about to put the cell back in her pocket when it vibrated again. This time, a text signaling she had received an email from the man they had been talking about. The brunette bit her lower lip guiltily. Despite being an adult and her bodyguard, Clyde was one of her closest friends. And she had pulled a nasty stunt on him, leaving all of a sudden this morning.

"I'm sorry" she typed down. "Just let me have this. I promise to be safe. Em."

Hoping he'd forgive her, she put her cell back in her pocket and got ready to return to the hotel room when...

"Eh Princess, that you?"

She blinked and glanced up. The black guy from the gas station was waving at her from the counter. Next to him, a older white man was in deep discussion with the clerk. Emily waved back at him with a small smile. Derek immediately abandoned his companion and walked to meet her.

"Talk about coincidences" she said as a greeting. Derek shrugged:

"Told you we were following the same itinerary. Speaking of which, where are your friends?"

"Taking their time changing. We're going out for dinner later." she hesitated, then added: "I'd ask if you wanna join us but I don't know if they're in."

Derek nodded in understanding.

"Yeah I get it. The old geezer would be pissed if I invited guests without asking him first."

"Derek Morgan, I sure hope you realize that old geezer is standing right behind you." Both young people jumped and stared - Derek with a slightly guilty expression over his face - at a man in his fifties. Dark-haired, dark-eyed, with a scruffy beard, barely hiding his mouth twisted in amusement. "Dang kid, you're learning fast" he added, nodding at Emily. A hint of embarrassment grew in Derek's eyes as he glanced apologetically at the young woman. "I hope I'm not interrupting private time with your girlfriend."

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't get your name." The man smiled.

"Good answer kid. Name is Rossi. David Rossi."

She shook his hand firmly, vaguely thinking the name sounded familiar. Then, from the corner of the eyes, she saw Hotch and Garcia heading her way. She released his hand and, after a quick good-bye, headed towards them. She did not expect the stoic expression on Hotch's face, but did anticipate the blonde's sassy remark:

"Meeting your friend again?"

Emily shrugged.

"What can I say, we're like magnets." she paused and glanced at the two men walking away. "And I have a feeling we'll be seeing them again."